Tether to Peg New GBPT Stablecoin to British Pound

Tether, an early player in the development of stablecoins, has announced the scheduled launch of a new coin whose value will be pegged to the British pound, Bloomberg reported Wednesday (June 22).

The GBPT token, which joins a Tether lineup that already includes cryptocurrencies tied to the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan, Mexican peso and euro, will be available in July, according to the report. It will use the Ethereum blockchain.

Stablecoins are popular with investors as ways to benefit from some of the strengths of crypto — easy transfers, for example — without being exposed the volatility associated with the untethered currencies.

Nevertheless, Tether has faced challenges and recently fell below the critical value of fetching $1 in U.S. currency for what had been a single dollar-denominated unit in the associated cryptocurrency, the report stated.

Tether is advancing the British pound-tied stablecoin as policy makers in the United Kingdom and Europe explore the launch of cryptocurrencies linked to central banks. Several reports published Wednesday quoted Tether Chief Technology Officer Paul Ardoino as having said expanded use of crypto in places where central banks become involved should increase demand for the new coin.

“Tether is ready and willing to work with U.K. regulators to make this goal a reality and looks forward to the continued adoption of Tether stablecoins,” he reportedly said.

Tether’s announcement comes less than a week after Circle announced the upcoming release of a stablecoin tied to the euro. The coin will be called “Euro Coin.” Tether already has a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Read more: Circle Debuts Euro Stablecoin

“The launch of Euro Coin aims to further Circle’s successful work in driving the frictionless exchange of financial value and bridging crypto-native and traditional financial services,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a statement.

Moves such as Tether’s and Circle’s presumably would cut into the dominance of U.S.-based companies in the cryptocurrency sector.

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