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November 16, 2018 Updated
Tether USDT

How to Buy Tether in the Philippines

Je Gino-Gino

Tether (USDT) is a stable cryptocurrency pegged to the value of the United States Dollar. This means that 1 USDT is always equal to 1 USD.




Tether (USDT) is a stable cryptocurrency pegged to the value of the United States Dollar. This means that 1 USDT is equal to 1 USD. The company that created Tether claims that each USDT is backed by a dollar being held in the Tether Limited Reserve.

Although USDT has a one-is-to-one ratio to USD, it is not yet directly available in the Philippines. In order to get 1 USDT, you will need to buy it through different kinds of cryptocurrency exchanges. In this article, we will teach you how to buy USDT in the country.

What is Tether?

Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile, it can change in just a few seconds. Tether, on the other hand, mirrors the value of the US Dollar. This makes it a “stable coin”. Because of this 1:1 Tether to USD ratio, major exchanges use it as a USD replacement. According to the official tether website:

“Tether converts cash into digital currency, to anchor or tether the value to the price of national currencies like the US dollar, the Euro, and the Yen.” – Tether

In addition, it also says that since 1 USDT is equal to 1 USD, the dollar is being held in their reserves.

This token has its share of controversies. The people running Bitfinex (a traditional cryptocurrency exchange) are also the people behind Tether. Mr. Jan Ludovicus van der Velde is the CEO of Bitfinex and Tether and Mr. Philip Potter is the Chief Strategy Officer of both companies. There is concern that Tether is not really 1:1 and not really held in a reserve but instead being used as a “fractional reserve lending”.

In USDT’s defense, since it is backed by USD the company behind it claims that the token is not subject to speculations just like other cryptos. It is equal to USD and provides stability in the midst of the volatility of other cryptocurrencies.

Where to buy USDT in the Philippines?

The cryptocurrency USDT is not directly available in the country. Users who want to buy USDT have to use cryptocurrency exchanges such as Changelly and traditional trading platforms.

Step 1: Getting BTC

Since USDT is not directly available in the country, you will need to purchase it through cryptocurrency exchanges. This is why you will need to get bitcoins (or other cryptos) first.

Buying Bitcoin using Coins.ph

Coins.ph is one of the top cryptocurrency wallets in the Philippines. Currently, it supports PHP, BTC, ETH, BCH, and XRP.

Steps:

  1. Sign up and Register for a Coins.ph account (Register here!)
  2. Verify your account and complete necessary KYC (know-your-customer)
  3. Have your Philippine fiat ready and cash in your account via:
    1. 7-Eleven Cliqq Kiosk
    2. Palawan Pawnshop
    3. UnionBank or other bank accounts
  4. Once you have PHP in your Coins.ph wallet, convert it to BTC
  5. Transfer this BTC to your cryptocurrency exchange of choice.

Buying Bitcoin using Credit Card / Debit Card

Changelly is a cryptocurrency broker that will also let you purchase bitcoin, litecoin, bitcoin cash, and ethereum using your credit card or debit card.

Steps:

  1. Sign up and register to Changelly (Register here!)
  2. Choose as to whether you want to purchase crypto using USD or EUR
  3. Choose what token you want to purchase. It can be bitcoin, bitcoin cash, litecoin, or ethereum.
  4. Put your correct token address. For the sake of this article, put your BTC address.
  5. Complete the KYC requirements.
  6. Input your credit card or debit card information.
  7. Verify if all the information is correct.
  8. Receive your tokens.

Step 2: Trading your BTC to USDT

Changelly

Changelly is a cryptocurrency broker. This means that it works just like a money changer where you will need to exchange your crypto to another crypto. The price of each crypto depends on the market price. It has over 100 altcoins that you can exchange and will let you buy bitcoin using a credit card/debit card. Transactions using Changelly is easy and quick as it can only take 5-30 minutes.

Steps in using Changelly BTC to USDT:

  1. Sign up and register to Changelly (Register here!)
  2. Choose the token “YOU HAVE” to BTC. Input the amount of BTC you have.
  3. Choose USDT on “YOU GET”.
  4. Click on Exchange!
  5. You will go to the next page and don’t forget to tick on the “I’ve read and agree…” and click on Next.
  6. Put your USDT address. Click on Next
  7. Confirm the transaction if it’s correct. Click on Next
  8. Changelly will give you a QR code to scan where you can send your BTC. You can also copy the address.
  9. Wait for the exchange within 5-30 minutes.
  10. Receive your USDT in your USDT Wallet.

Traditional Cryptocurrency Exchanges

Traditional cryptocurrency exchanges are the open book type trading platform. This is where you can have more freedom in putting your own buy/sell price. You can also purchase tokens based on its market price. Traditional crypto exchanges also have different trading pairs. In USDT there are BTC/USDT, BCH/USDT, ETH/USDT, XRP/USDT, EOS/USDT, BCC/USDT, DASH/USDT, USDT/USD, XUC/USDT, QTUM/USDT, LTC/USDT, ADA/USDT, UBTC/USDT, XLM/USDT, AT/USDT, XWC/USDT, ONT/USDT, NEO/USDT, TRX/USDT, VET/USDT, BIX/USDT, GTO/USDT, IOTA/USDT, HT/USDT, BNB/USDT, and a lot more pairings. For the sake of this article, we will go with the BTC/USDT pair.

Steps in Buying USDT using Binance

  1. Register and verify your e-mail address (Register to Binance here!)
  2. Fund your Binance account by going to Funds > Deposit > BTC
  3. Use your BTC in your cryptocurrency wallet such as Coins.ph, Abra, Bitbit.cash, etc
  4. Go to Exchange and search the BTC/USDT trading pair
  5. Put the amount of USDT you want to buy and you can either set the price or buy using the market price.
  6. After completing the purchase, go to Withdraw > USDT
  7. Make sure to deposit your purchased USDT in your USDT wallet for safe keeping.

The steps shown above are almost the same in other traditional cryptocurrency exchanges.

USDT Wallet

As we search around for the best USDT wallet, we stumbled upon a bitcointalk post and most of the members are pointing to the official tether website.

There is also a popular third-party wallet for USDT and that is Freewallet.

Lifetime USDT Price Chart

USDT price chart against USD is almost at flat line since it is pegged at US Dollar price. Aside from minor USD hiccups in the green line, the most notable change is the orange line, which is the price of BTC versus USD.

USDT – Difference from other Coins

The difference of USDT to other coins is its stability. Unlike other cryptocurrencies that are vulnerable to speculations etc, USDT will stand still as it is pegged in the USD price. Although sometimes, USD may stumble from time to time, its volatility is not as severe.

USDT Key People

  • JL Van Der Velde, CEO, Tether (LinkedIn)
  • Giancarlo Devasini, Chief Financial Officer, Tether (LinkedIn)
  • Stuart Hoegner, General Counsel, Tether (LinkedIn)

Overall

USDT is called a stable coin because it is pegged at the US Dollar price. According to Tether Limited, the company behind USDT, the tokens’ ratio is 1:1 and has a USD equivalent being held in its reserve.

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  • This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an investment advice. Your actions are solely your own responsibility. There is no substitute for doing your own research. This website is not responsible for any losses you may incur, nor will it claim attribution for your gains.



Je Gino-Gino
Spreading the word about blockchain and cryptocurrencies.
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