Tether trades at 7% to 10% premium in India. Exchanges say its just supply and demand
CoinDesk 2026-06-30 04:59:04
Context: Tether's USDT stablecoin has surged to an unusually high premium on Indian crypto exchanges, trading at 7-10% above its dollar value, with executives at major platforms CoinDCX and CoinSwitch attributing the premium to a demand-supply imbalance and thin local liquidity. The premium spike follows action by India's Enforcement Directorate related to USDT payments. Indian crypto exchanges are responding to the premium spike, with explanations lining up closely with a supply-side account.
Key Facts
- Tether's USDT stablecoin is trading at a 7-10% premium on Indian crypto exchanges, with the premium rising to as high as ₹102.88 against an official dollar-rupee rate of about 94.65 per USD.
- The USDT premium normally runs between 3% and 4%, and it widens whenever local demand outpaces the supply of tokens actually available to trade.
- Minal Thakur, CFO of CoinDCX, attributes the premium to a function of local order-book depth relative to the global dollar reference price, stating that the premium becomes a signal of the local arbitrage band.
- Ashish Singhal, co-founder and CEO of CoinSwitch, stresses that the premium is not something exchanges are setting themselves, but rather reflects broader market dynamics, including liquidity conditions and the availability of dollar-backed digital assets.
- The premium spike could be linked to the Enforcement Directorate's enforcement action, which may have caused market makers and liquidity providers to scale back from sourcing USDT overseas, resulting in a supply-side liquidity shortage.