USDt is a shallower funding market than USD — less money queued at each rate, which means patient offers at higher rates actually get taken. Rates below come from real trades — the volume-weighted median of what borrowers are actually paying — and are set by demand, not guaranteed.
In a shallow market, waiting is cheap relative to the rate gain: in our 3-year replay, quoting USDt at the 90th percentile of recent trades out-earned median quoting by roughly two points annualized. That is exactly how our engine prices USDt. The full analysis is in our study of 88 million real funding trades.
Rate spikes are when locking long loans pays best — and they fade within hours. Leave an email and we'll ping you the moment the market crosses your line. Free, no account needed.
The actual queue right now: how much money is waiting at each rate, and how much is ahead of it. Lower rates fill first; equal rates fill first-in-first-out.
The live rate is shown at the top of this page and refreshes every 5 minutes from real Bitfinex trades — the volume-weighted median of what USDt borrowers are actually paying right now.
They are separate order books with separate supply and demand. USDt funding is shallower — less lending supply queued at each rate — so its rates often run higher and pricing patiently at higher percentiles pays off in a way it does not in the deep USD market.
The lending mechanics are identical — collateralized borrowers, margin calls, the same 15% Bitfinex fee. The additional consideration is that USDt is a stablecoin: you hold Tether's peg risk on top of exchange counterparty risk. Lend in the currency you are comfortable holding.
See both markets side by side on the main rates page, or estimate earnings with the calculator.