Tether Operations is to launch a stablecoin pegged to the British pound sterling in July.
The company is behind stablecoin USDT, the third most valuable cryptocurrency after Bitcoin and Ethereum, which is currently worth $67 billion by market capitalisation.
GBPT will join four other fiat-currency pegged tokens Tether has in the market: the US dollar-pegged USDT, the Euro-pegged EURT, the offshore Chinese Yuan-pegged CNHT and recently launched MXNT, pegged to the Mexican Peso.
GBPT will operate on the tether.to blockchain platform, while there will be initial support for Ethereum.
In April of this year, The UK Treasury announced plans to make the country a global crypto hub. According to its website, the government will also make moves to see stablecoins recognised as a valid form of payment.
“We believe that the United Kingdom is the next frontier for blockchain innovation and the wider implementation of cryptocurrency for financial markets,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether.
“We hope to help lead this innovation by providing cryptocurrency users worldwide with access to a GBP-denominated stablecoin issued by the largest stablecoin issuer.
“Tether is ready and willing to work with UK regulators to make this goal a reality and looks forward to the continued adoption of Tether stablecoins.”
Tether said GBPT will reinforce the British Pound Sterling as one of the most dominant currencies across the globe and introduce an FX opportunity for USDT and EURT. It will also act as an on-ramp to the decentralised finance ecosystem.