How to Buy Tether (USDT)
On this page you will learn where and how to buy Tether (USDT) and amongst other things its use cases. Most importantly you will find out not just about its positives, but negatives. We will also go through its backing, legal issues and bad news. All for the sake of transparency before you decide to go ahead and buy Tether.
Tether (USDT) one of the most popular stablecoins that is pegged to the US dollar. As a result it has some specific use cases which we are going to delve into.
Why Buy USDT
Since Tether is a stablecoin it is mostly bought by traders. This is because Tether is still a crypto. As a result it is easier and faster to transfer it between exchanges as opposed to using fiat. Additionally it has another added benefit in that stablecoin fees for transacting are cheaper than fiat.
Traders usually buy Tether because it is tied to the US dollar and has no price volatility. It only has some small ups and downs, but remains relatively stable in price. On the other hand cryptos are highly volatile with large ups as well as downs.
For this reason Tether comes in handy when the crypto market is going down. You can trade your crypto for Tether and spare yourself until it is safe to convert to other cryptos again.
As a result you might want to consider purchasing some other cryptocurrencies instead of USDT. It would depend on where the market is at the time. You may want to have a look at these buying guides or do some additional research. If not, you will find all the information on where and how to buy further down.
As a side note, Tether also has different fiat currency pegs. For example gold XAUt, the euro EURt and the Chinese Yuan CNHt.
Where to Buy USDT
Usually we recommend exchanges over trading platforms to buy cryptocurrency. However because Tether is used in trading we are primarily recommending trading platforms. The only exception is CEX.io which has both a trading platform area and an exchange area.
On the other hand there are some exchanges that have both exchange areas and trading areas like CEX. So we will also list these for you.
Exchanges are perfect to buy crypto because they have simplified interfaces. As a result they are very user friendly and mostly intuitive to use.
However trading platforms are not as straight forward and easy to understand first off. Trading platforms are made for traders and hence their interfaces are more complex.
Trading platforms are similar to exchanges when it comes to signing up for an account. On the other hand buying and selling is vastly different. You will need to learn how to use the interface. We will show you how to use it when we get to the step of buying Tether.
The good thing is once you know how to use one trading platform you can easily figure out other ones. This is because the interfaces have some slight differences, but there are largely similar.
You can buy USDT using several payment methods. This would include the basic payment methods like bank transfer and credit card.
However before you pick which trading platform you may be interested in how to save money on fees. In this case you should scroll down to the ‘Pay less fees when you buy USDT’ section.
Best Trading Platforms to Buy Tether
Best Exchanges to Buy Tether
Kraken
Kraken is rated as one of the best exchanges. They have the best security procedures in place out of all the cryptocurrency exchanges in the industry. Additionally they are fairly prompt with verification and their customer service is good.
Coinbase
Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. It is a veteran exchange that has been around from the very beginning of the crypto industry. They are overall a good exchange except their customers service needs improvement.
1. Set Up an Account
Firstly you will need to pick your preferred trading platform. To buy USDT you will need to first set up an account. This is easy and much like any website not just crypto exchanges or trading platforms. The most important thing is that you select a trading platform that is right for you.
After you do the initial part of setting up your email and password you will need to provide some documents. The platform will likely ask for proof of identification and/or proof of address.
You should make sure that the documents you supply have the same information. So for example you should have the same address on all documents. Otherwise it could delay the process of setting up your account.
Additionally there might be a kind of tiered system for proof of identity. Where if you buy USDT in small amounts you will have to provide less proof of identity. If you buy more then you will have to provide more proof of identity documents. Just follow the instructions on what is asked of you to correctly set up your account.
2. Wait For Verification
You will likely need to wait for verification of your documents. Not all trading platforms take the same amount of time to verify your documents. Some are more instant, some take hours and others days.
You will be notified via email that your account has been approved.
3. Deposit
You will need to deposit money into the trading platform before you start trading. Usually you would need to find the ‘deposit’ or ‘funding’ option.
After that you will need to select the fiat currency or cryptocurrency you want to deposit. If you opt for fiat currency you will have to select the payment method you prefer.
4. Buy USDT
Now we will get into how to buy Tether using examples of trading platforms and exchanges. Like this you will get a better idea how it all works.
How to Buy Tether With Bitfinex
Bitfinex is a robust trading platform that is able to withstand large user volumes on the platform. Additionally if you do not already know, that they have a minimum requirement of $/€/£ 10,000 deposit and withdrawal amounts.
Other recommended platforms do not have these limits. So if you cannot mean these requirements it is better to pick one of the other platforms.
Here is a short video of how to use Bitfinex to buy USDT. It is fairly easy once you see what you have to do:
How to Buy Tether With TradingView
On the other hand things are a little different when it comes to TradingView. TradingView is a fantastic platform with very many tools. It is the most popular trading platform used by traders around the world.
Similarly, trading is exactly the same with TradingView as on any other trading platform. However the only difference is that you have to connect a broker to your TradingView account.
This is because TradingView only supplies tools and charts. You can buy through TradingView however it is because you are connect a broker. You have to make sure you select a crypto broker because there are many brokers. Not all brokers offer cryptocurrency.
Here is a video on how you can go about connecting a broker:
Now you can move on to how to buy Tether using TradingView:
How to Buy Tether With CEX.io
As mentioned earlier CEX has both a trading platform and an exchange area. If you are using CEX to buy USDT then you could go to their exchange area instead of the trading area. Of course if you prefer trading by this point then you can go to the trading area.
The trading area is pretty similar to the other two platforms. So we don’t need to go over that again. However here is what you will see in the exchange area. As you can see the interface is different.
Buy USDT With Credit Card
You can buy USDT using a credit card. All trading platform not just the ones recommended here should accept credit cards.
However you will be charged higher fees for what is defined as ‘convenience’ for instantly buying USDT by the platform. In fact if you are able to do so, it would be better to use other payment methods.
Pay Less Fees When You Buy USDT
Bank transfer is the most cost effective payment method to buy USDT whether that’s on an exchange or trading platform. Not all exchanges and platforms charge the same fees for the various payment methods. However with bank transfers you will still be charged less fees on any platform.
Additionally on trading platforms you can also save on fees by checking out whether maker or taker fees are the most cost effective. What you will need to do is look up the maker and taker fees on the trading platform you selected. Here is a short 3 minute video on how to be a maker or taker on a trading platform:
Moreover you can save on fees by checking the trading pairs before you select a trading platform. This is because there may not be a USD/USDT or EUR/USDT etc trading pair. However there may be a BTC/USDT trading pair.
This means you would need to first buy Bitcoin and then exchange it for USDT. As a result it would increase the cost to buy USDT because instead of 1 purchase you will make 2.
Other Ways to Buy Tether
You can also buy Tether from a crypto ATM. However buying USDT from an ATM has its drawback and we would not recommend it. Firstly because as mentioned it is for traders to take their funds out of crypto to shelter them and for lower fees. Secondly ATMs are more expensive. Apart from the fact that they could be out of your way.
Having said that you might like the novelty of buying from a crypto ATM. There are quite a lot of crypto ATMs popping up. You can check updated information on where the closest ATM to you is by checking CoinATMRadar.
As mentioned ATMs are more expensive and you never know how much you are going to pay. Unless you do some research. Crypto ATM companies are not clear with their fees. As a result you should ideally find a CoinFlip ATM. They have 6.99% fees and around a $1 mining fee.
However there are some crypto ATMs that charge as much as 25% which is a rip off. So best to do some research before you go and buy Tether using a crypto ATM.
What You Should Know Before You Buy USDT
Tether is the most popular stablecoin. In the past it used to be backed 1-to-1 with the US dollar. However over time the assets that back Tether have become more diversified. According to an article on Coindesk on March 2021 Tether is backed by:
- 75.85% in cash and cash equivalents
- 12.55% in secured loans
- 9.96% in corporate bonds
- 1.6% other investments
The problem with stablecoins like Tether is that they are not properly audited. So if the market finds out that they are not backed with assets like they claim, it could spell disaster. The price would instantly drop and it is unlikely that people will trust the coin again. This means you are unlikely to regain your losses.
In fact Tether has come under a lot of pressure to produce an audit. They said they would deliver the audit by mid 2021. However it never materialised. As a result it sent alarm bells ringing and a lot of people have been very suspicious.
Bloomberg published an article in late 2021 called Tether’s $69 billion mystery. They speculated that Tether is partially backed by Chinese corporate debt and could be linked to Evergrand. If that is the case that is definitely a disaster waiting to happen.
Moreover Tether has had its share of legal issues in the past. The most recent is the Department of Justice’s probe into possible bank fraud. You can read about USDT maintains dollar peg as traders shrug off DOJ Tether Probe Report on Coindesk. Some lawsuits are unfounded like the one where Tether won the $1 trillion dollar lawsuit for market manipulation.