Key points
- USDT (Tether) is the largest stablecoin on the market. It keeps parity with the US dollar and can be used to pay, transfer money and save in digital dollars without depending on the peso.
- Its backing comes from reserves verified through quarterly attestation reports by an independent firm. As of the first quarter of 2026, about 80% was in US Treasury bonds, plus cash equivalents, gold and bitcoin.
- With Skipo you can buy USDT with pesos, with no fees, starting at CLP 1,000, and activate the interest-bearing account so your balance earns daily yield.
Every month more Chileans use USDT to pay for services abroad, send money to family members outside the country or keep part of their savings in dollars without opening a dollar account at a bank. USDT is the most widely used stablecoin in the world, and it works as a digital dollar inside your crypto wallet: you can hold it, move it between platforms and transfer it to other countries in minutes. With Skipo you can buy USDT with pesos, with no fees or prior conversion to dollars, and use it both for payments and to save in digital dollars.
What is USDT?
USDT is short for Tether USD, a cryptocurrency issued by the company Tether Limited. Unlike bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH), USDT does not aim to rise in value: its goal is to always keep a parity of 1 USDT to 1 US dollar. That is why it belongs to the category of stablecoins.
Each USDT in circulation is backed by one dollar (or its equivalent in liquid assets) that Tether holds in reserve. That sets it apart from other cryptocurrencies whose price fluctuates freely with supply and demand: USDT moves as the dollar moves, and that is why it works as a stable currency within the crypto ecosystem.
It is the largest digital asset in its segment. At the end of June 2026 its market capitalization exceeded USD 187 billion, with a share of about 59% of the global stablecoin market, according to CoinMarketCap.
How does USDT keep its parity with the dollar?
Parity is maintained through two combined mechanisms.
The first is reserve backing. For every USDT issued, Tether states that it holds one dollar or an equivalent in liquid assets. As of the first quarter of 2026, approximately 80% of those reserves were in US Treasury bonds, plus cash equivalents, about USD 8 billion in gold and USD 7 billion in bitcoin, according to the attestation report published by Tether in May 2026.
The second mechanism is arbitrage. If USDT trades below one dollar on an exchange, buyers appear who acquire it cheaply and redeem it for dollars with Tether. If it rises above, the reverse happens. That back-and-forth pushes the price back to the dollar within hours.
Tether publishes quarterly attestations signed by the firm BDO, a format that verifies the backing at a specific point in time. It is not a full audit in the style of a traditional firm, and that distinction is a recurring criticism in the industry that is worth knowing about.
On which networks is USDT available?
On Skipo, USDT is available only on the BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) network. When you buy, send or receive USDT from Skipo, the only compatible network is BEP-20, and all source and destination addresses must belong to that network. Sending USDT from Skipo to an address on another network (TRC-20, ERC-20 or others) means losing the funds permanently, with no possibility of recovery.
Globally, USDT circulates on several blockchains. Each network works like a different lane, with its own times and fees. The most widely used today are:
- BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20): the network Skipo supports. Low fees (cents of a dollar per transfer) and fast confirmation.
- TRON (TRC-20): popular for its low fees, typically one dollar or less per transfer. Widely used for payments and person-to-person remittances.
- Ethereum (ERC-20): USDT's original network, with greater institutional liquidity but higher fees. Under normal conditions a transfer costs about USD 1.50, and at times of high congestion it can rise to USD 15, according to reports from MEXC.
- TON: integrated into the Telegram ecosystem, with fees close to zero.
A critical detail: 1 USDT on BEP-20 and 1 USDT on TRC-20 are worth the same in pesos, but they are not interchangeable at the protocol level. Before confirming any transfer from Skipo, check that the destination address belongs to BEP-20.
What is USDT used for day to day?
Four use cases account for most USDT volume in Latin America today.
Saving in digital dollars. Many Chileans buy USDT to protect part of their savings from the peso without going through the hassle of opening a dollar account at a bank. It is faster, does not require a high minimum amount, and the balance stays in your crypto wallet, available when you need it. When combined with an interest-bearing USDT account, those digital dollars earn daily yield while they are held.
International transfers. Sending money to a family member outside the country through traditional banking can take one to three business days, and usually includes an exchange rate spread plus intermediary fees. With USDT, a transfer between wallets is executed in minutes and you only pay the fee of the network you send on, which ranges from cents of a dollar on BEP-20 to a few dollars on Ethereum. The person receiving it converts the USDT to the destination's local currency whenever they want. At Skipo we have a specific guide on stablecoins for sending money abroad that covers the full steps.
Digital payments to suppliers abroad. Freelancers, importers and service companies use USDT to get paid by or pay counterparties outside Chile without depending on the traditional banking system. USDT is accepted by most crypto exchanges and payment platforms in the world.
A safe haven within the crypto ecosystem. When the crypto market falls, many investors sell bitcoin, ether or other cryptocurrencies and keep the balance in USDT so they do not have to cash out to pesos. When they want to buy again, they do not need to deposit from the bank again. It is a way to keep capital inside the ecosystem but without exposure to volatility. If you are starting out with crypto, at Skipo we have a guide on what to look at before buying bitcoin in Chile that also applies to the analysis before buying other cryptocurrencies.
Some context: during 2026, about 39% of crypto purchases made by Latin American users were stablecoins, surpassing bitcoin for the first time, according to Bitso data cited by Criptoinforme.
How do you buy USDT on Skipo, step by step?
Skipo has one of the shortest purchase flows in the Chilean market for buying USDT. The steps are:
- Download the Skipo app from the App Store or Google Play, or go to skipo.com in your browser.
- Sign up with your email, verify your identity with your RUT and a photo of your ID card, and create your password.
- Deposit pesos from your bank account to the Skipo account shown in the app. The deposit shows up in minutes.
- Go to the USDT profile and tap "Buy." Enter the amount in pesos, review the details of the operation and confirm.
- The USDT is in your balance instantly, ready to use, send to another wallet or keep activated in the interest-bearing account.
To send USDT to another wallet or exchange, you tap "Send," paste the destination address and confirm. On Skipo, all USDT sends and receipts are made on the BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) network, so the destination address must belong to that network. Before sending, the app shows you the amount and the applicable network fee. If this is your first cryptocurrency purchase in Chile, our general guide to buying cryptocurrencies may also help.
Advantages of buying and using USDT on Skipo
Direct purchase in pesos, with no exchange rate spread
Skipo lets you buy USDT directly in pesos, without a prior conversion to dollars. You do not pay the difference between the buy and sell price of the dollar that platforms placing the order in USD apply. Every peso you deposit turns into USDT at the market price at that moment, with no intermediate charges.
No buy, sell or maintenance fees
Skipo does not charge a fee when you buy USDT, when you sell it for pesos, or for keeping the balance in your account. The only costs that appear are network fees when you send USDT to an external wallet, and those go to the selected blockchain network, not to Skipo. You can start at CLP 1,000.
Interest-bearing USDT account
Your USDT balance on Skipo can be activated in the interest-bearing account, which earns daily yield through the Aave protocol. No activation costs, no maintenance costs, and you can withdraw whenever you want. It is the way to put your digital dollars to work while you hold them, instead of leaving them idle as in a checking account. The minimum to activate it is 5 USDT.
Bank withdrawals in seconds
When you sell USDT for pesos, the balance is available in your Skipo account. The withdrawal to your bank is executed immediately, in approximately two minutes. There are no settlement windows or waiting for business days.
What should you consider before starting to use USDT?
Before moving significant volume in USDT, there are a few things worth being clear about.
USDT is a stablecoin, not a growth investment. You will not make money just by holding USDT in your crypto wallet, unless you activate it in an account that earns yield, such as Skipo's interest-bearing account. Its value moves with the US dollar, so it also follows the dollar's ups and downs against the peso. If you are building your strategy from scratch, our guide on how to start investing in Chile from CLP 1,000 may help; it covers the logic of allocating your capital across different assets.
When sending USDT to another wallet, double-check the network and the destination address. From Skipo, all USDT sends are made on the BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) network, so the destination address must be BEP-20 compatible. A mistake in the network or the address can mean losing the funds permanently.
Tether publishes quarterly attestations, not full audits to the standard of a traditional firm. It is a technical distinction worth knowing when deciding how much exposure to take to the asset, and one of the reasons why other stablecoins such as USDC compete with a different approach to reserves and transparency.
Where to buy USDT in Chile? Skipo compared with other platforms
Skipo competes in the Chilean USDT market with other well-known platforms. The following table summarizes the criteria that most affect a user buying USDT for payments, transfers or savings.
| Criterion | Skipo | Buda | Orionx | CryptoMKT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDT buy and sell fee | No fee | 1.2% (instant buy and sell) | Up to 1% of the amount traded | 1.5% (simple buy and sell) |
| Interest-bearing USDT account | Yes | No | No | No |
| USDT DCA | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Time to withdraw pesos to the bank | Approx. 2 minutes | Up to 30 minutes | Up to 2 business days | Up to 2 hours |
Frequently asked questions
Are USDT and USDC the same?
Both are stablecoins pegged to the dollar, but they are issued by different companies: USDT by Tether Limited and USDC by Circle. USDT is the largest on the market and the most widely accepted by international exchanges. USDC positions itself with an approach focused on compliance and reserve transparency. On Skipo you can buy and sell both with pesos.
On which network is USDT sent from Skipo?
On Skipo, USDT is available only on the BNB Smart Chain (BEP-20) network. When you send or receive USDT from your account, the source and destination addresses must belong to that network. If your recipient only accepts USDT on another network (TRC-20, ERC-20 or others), you cannot send it to them directly from Skipo. Before sending, confirm with the other party that their wallet can receive USDT on BEP-20.
How much does holding USDT in Skipo's interest-bearing account earn?
The yield of Skipo's interest-bearing account is not fixed. It depends on the rate the Aave protocol pays liquidity providers at any given time, and that rate adjusts according to the supply and demand of USDT in the protocol. Earnings are credited daily to your Skipo account. The minimum amount to activate it is 5 USDT.
Is it safe to keep my savings in USDT?
USDT is the stablecoin with the largest market capitalization and keeps parity with the dollar backed by reserves verified through quarterly attestations by an independent firm. Like any crypto asset, USDT is not risk-free: it depends on Tether's solvency and on the proper functioning of the blockchains it circulates on. To reduce risk, diversify and always check how your balance is held on the platform you use.
What happens if I send USDT from Skipo to an address on another network by mistake?
In most cases, the funds are lost. On Skipo, USDT travels on BEP-20, so if you send to an address that belongs to another network (TRC-20, ERC-20 or others), the transfer ends up in a state that does not allow automatic recovery. Some platforms offer manual recovery for a fee, but it is not guaranteed. Before confirming the transfer, double-check that the destination address is BEP-20 compatible.
How long does a USDT purchase on Skipo take?
The purchase is executed instantly. When you confirm the order in the app, the USDT appears in your balance in seconds, ready to use, send or keep in the interest-bearing account. The previous step (transferring pesos from your bank to Skipo) takes minutes, not business days.
USDT is today the most widely used stablecoin in the world and one of the simplest ways to access digital dollars from Chile. With Skipo you can buy USDT with pesos, with no fees, activate the interest-bearing account so your balance earns daily yield, and send to other wallets when you need to, with immediate execution.
