Tether Adds ‘Euro-Coin’; Announces Strategic Partnership

Tether, a platform using blockchain technology to transfer conventional currencies, has announced the launch of EURT, a digital token backed by euros tradeable and transferable over the Bitcoin blockchain.

Like Tether Dollars (USDT), the supply of Tether Euros (EURT) is backed by a banking trust in Taiwan on a 1 to 1 basis of deposits to coins issued.

The company said its technology is facilitating the trading of between half a million and a million USD worth of USDT per day. The supply of Tether Dollars has grown to over US$6.6 million by bank deposits in Taiwan, it said.

Tether currencies are asset-backed tokens issued using the Omni Layer protocol. Unlike conventional currencies such as USD or EUR, USDT and EURT are assets that move on the blockchain, allowing for greater efficiency in currency conversion and money transfers. The Tether platform, which is still in beta, aims at providing an affordable alternative to expensive foreign currency exchanges by cutting out custodians and middlemen.

“We believe the Bitcoin blockchain is a better technology for transacting, storing, and accounting for these assets,” the company claims in a whitepaper.

“Most estimates measure global wealth around 250 trillion dollars with much of that being held by banks or similar financial institutions. The migration of these assets onto the Bitcoin blockchain represents a proportionally large opportunity.”

The launch of EURT comes simultaneously with the announcement of a new partnership with Coinsbank, an Edinburg-based exchange and fintech solutions provider, which will allow holders of Tether USD and Tether EUR to make debit card payments. Moreover, EURT can be deposited on OpenLedger and credited for SEPA transfers and on Coinbank for debit card payments.

“We’re enabling price discovery and remittance for the world’s most liquid market over the Bitcoin blockchain, which means we can provide a very tight spread combined with the lowest exchange fees in the industry,” said Patrick Dugan, a board member of the Omni Layer Foundation, formerly known as Mastercoin.

Founded in 2014 as Realcoin, Tether seeks to accelerate the adoption of Bitcoin by “aligning with currencies people already know.” The company rebranded later that year to avoid altcoin association.