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USDT market cap surged by 500 million before Bitcoin's big rally? Suspected to be due to data website updates.

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USDT market cap surged by 500 million before Bitcoin

On the morning of January 7th, the price of Bitcoin surged $300 within three hours, reaching a 30-day high of $7,900. Some speculation suggested that the market value of the mainstream stablecoin Tether (USDT) experienced a significant increase in a short period of time, leading to speculation about whether Tether intervened in the market, although this turned out to be untrue.

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On the morning of January 7th, the price of Bitcoin surged by $300 within three hours, reaching a high of $7,900, the highest level in 30 days. There were speculations suggesting that the market value of the mainstream stablecoin Tether (USDT) had surged significantly in a short period of time, leading to speculation about whether Tether had intervened in the market. However, this was not the case. Illusion of Increased Tether Market Value Before the earlier 5% increase in Bitcoin price, data from Coinmarketcap showed that the market value of USDT had increased by $500 million, rising from $4.14 billion at 4:49 AM Taipei time on January 7th to $4.65 billion at 4:54 AM Taipei time on January 7th.
Source: Coinmarketcap
The Tether official website also indicated a total liability of $4.65 billion, and the high market value increase shown by Coinmarketcap sparked media speculation about the connection between Tether and the price surge.
Source: Tether
Upon investigation, these speculations were found to be unfounded. Firstly, on-chain data showed that there had been no recent issuance of USDT. Secondly, based on Tether's records dating back to the previous day (January 6th), the disclosed current balance already stood at $4.65 billion. Twitter account @StablecoinsW also refuted claims of a sudden increase in market value, stating that it was due to Coinmarketcap not accounting for USDT on the TRON blockchain and choosing to update at that particular time. Coinmarketcap has not publicly commented on @StablecoinsW's conclusions. Apart from Bitcoin, mainstream cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Ripple saw significant increases of 5.76% and 11.18% respectively, with the overall cryptocurrency market cap growing by over $10 billion. Bitcoin Price Index Since January 3rd, tensions between Iran and the United States have continued to escalate, causing Bitcoin, traditionally seen as a safe-haven asset, to be scrutinized once again. The recent surge is widely believed to be related to the US-Iran conflict. In addition, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose by 0.25%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (SPX) increased by 0.35%. Crude oil (USOIL) fell by 0.35%, and whether Bitcoin possesses hedging properties remains debatable. Hash Rate Reaches Historic High According to on-chain data from the past 7 days, the Bitcoin hash rate has sharply increased from 93EH/s on December 30th to 106EH/s on January 5th, reaching a historic high of 119EH/s on January 1st, surpassing the previous record of 114EH/s set in October. Further Reading
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