What is the mid price?
The mid price is the midpoint between the highest bid and the lowest ask for an asset at a given moment — for USDT, the average of the best buy and sell orders. OTC desks use it as the neutral reference rate that every quote is measured against.
KEY FACTS
| Definition | Midpoint of the best bid and the best ask |
|---|---|
| Formula | (best bid + best ask) ÷ 2 |
| USDT/USD mid | Sits very close to $1.00 on large venues |
| AED reference | USDT/USD mid × 3.6725 (dirham peg) |
| IWGT quote | Mid − 0.08%–0.40% spread, by ticket size |
Source: Central Bank of the UAE and IWGT published pricing, as of September 2026.
How the mid price works
The mid moves every time the best bid or best ask in an order book moves. Because USDT is designed to track the US dollar, its mid on large venues sits very close to $1.00, and the dirham's 3.6725 peg turns that into a near-constant USDT/AED reference. The mid is not a price you can trade at: a seller trades at the bid. Its job is to be a neutral reference both sides can check independently.
To check it yourself, open a USDT/USD order book on a venue with real volume (Kraken lists the pair publicly), average the best bid and best ask, note the time, and multiply by 3.6725 for a dirham reference. The gap between that mid and the quoted rate should equal the stated spread.
Why it matters when selling USDT in the UAE
An OTC quote is only checkable if it names its reference: "mid minus 0.25%" is arithmetic you can audit, a bare AED figure is not. A desk that will not name its reference, or quotes better than the mid itself, has put the cost somewhere else. IWGT's bands, 0.08% to 0.40% by ticket size, are published on the main page pricing section; do the check inside the window the quote is held for.
Illustrative example
Best bid 0.9998, best ask 1.0002, so the reference mid is 1.0000. At a 0.20% spread the quoted price is 0.9980, or AED 3.665155 per USDT. On 500,000 USDT the proceeds are AED 1,832,577.50 and the whole cost of the trade is one line: 0.20% of the mid, AED 3,672.50. The steps around the quote are in the walkthrough for selling USDT in Dubai.
FAQ
Is the mid price the rate I actually get?
No. When you sell USDT you trade at the bid; an OTC quote is the reference mid minus the desk's spread. For USDT the bid sits within a fraction of a cent of the mid, so the stated spread is almost the whole cost.
Why does the USDT mid price stay near 1.00 USD?
USDT is designed to track the US dollar, and arbitrage traders buy or sell whenever it drifts, which pushes it back. On large venues the mid rarely strays far from $1.00; brief depeg episodes are the exception, not the rule.
Is the mid price the same on every exchange?
Almost. Each venue runs its own order book, so mids differ slightly at any given second, but arbitrage keeps large venues aligned. A quote should state which venue or index its reference mid comes from.
What if a quoted rate is far from the mid I checked?
Ask which reference and timestamp the desk used. If the gap exceeds the stated spread, or the desk cannot name a reference, treat it as a red flag and get a second written quote elsewhere.
Get a quote you can check against the mid
IWGT quotes every trade as a written reference mid minus a published spread of 0.08–0.40% by ticket size. AED goes out by UAEFTS the same business day once your account is approved.
SOURCES
- Kraken — Tether (USDT) price and markets — live order-book reference, accessed 10 September 2026.
- Central Bank of the UAE — exchange rates (USD/AED 3.6725), accessed 10 September 2026.
- IWGT published pricing bands and quote format, September 2026.
This guide is informational and is not legal, tax or investment advice, nor an invitation to buy or sell any virtual asset. Rules and figures are as of September 2026 — re-check the sources before acting. Virtual assets may lose their value in full or in part and are subject to extreme volatility.