Tether eyes U.S. expansion with new stablecoin as CEO courts Washington

By: bitcoin ethereum news|2025/05/02 11:30:02
0
Share
copy
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, is preparing to launch a U.S.-based stablecoin as soon as this year, as its CEO ramps up his presence in Washington to shape crypto regulation. In an interview with CNBC this week, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino revealed that the company is working on plans to issue a new dollar-pegged stablecoin in the U.S. as soon as this year. The move comes as Tether, once accused of being a criminal’s ‘go-to cryptocurrency’ – rebrands itself as a partner to American lawmakers and law enforcement. “A domestic stablecoin would be different from the international stable coin,” Ardoino told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the Token2049 conference in Dubai on Wednesday. “It depends on the timeline of the final legislation... but we are looking at that by the end of the year, or early next year at the fastest,” he said. But the timing and tactics of that next step are raising eyebrows on Capitol Hill. Ardoino’s recent charm offensive in Washington, which included private meetings with lawmakers, a Capitol Hill lunch with Senator Bill Hagerty and parties with crypto insiders, according to a New York Times report, has put a spotlight on Tether amid the pro-crypto shift under President Trump. That influence may now be helping shape key legislation, including the GOP-backed GENIUS Act, which critics say includes loopholes that benefit Tether and other foreign issuers – such as provisions allowing operations in the U.S. if they agree to work with law enforcement. The logos of the cryptocurrencies Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), the stablecoin Tether (USDT) and Binance Coin (BNB) can be seen on the trading platform CoinMarketCap. Picture Alliance | Picture Alliance | Getty Images Tether, headquartered in El Salvador, has made legal cooperation key to its lobbying narrative despite a history of regulatory penalties. “There is no company... even in the traditional financial system, that has such a breadth of collaboration with law enforcement,” Ardoino said. “We are always trying to do better and more to block criminal activity.... we have much better tools than the traditional financial system and we’re proving that everyday.” Ardoino also addressed concerns about the firm’s ability to back its digital assets. In 2021, Tether settled with the New York attorney general for $18.5 million over allegations it lied about its reserves. It now publishes attestation reports and holds billions in U.S. Treasuries – managed by Wall Street heavyweight Cantor Fitzgerald – and Ardoino insists the business is well capitalised in the event of a market shock. “We are very close to having $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries in our reserves,” he said. “We have $7 billion in excess equity within the company capital. That is really unprecedented and I wish financial institutions in the traditional financial system would at least try to copy us to provide better products for their consumers.” Tether’s latest attestation report confirmed the firm holds about $120 billion in U.S. Treasuries. Its first quarter independent auditors’ report confirmed assets and reserves exceed liabilities by almost $5.6 billion, a decrease from more than $7 billion in its December audit. Tether’s partnership with Cantor, now run by the sons of U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, has also raised questions. Ardoino told CNBC he doesn’t speak with Secretary Lutnick “because there are proper walls given the potential conflict of interest,” but added “we have great relationships with many people in the U.S. and also now in Washington.” Eric Trump and his older brother Donald Trump Jr. recently announced plans to launch a U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin through World Liberty Financial, the finance venture backed by President Donald Trump. Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/02/crypto-tether-eyes-us-expansion-with-new-stablecoin-as-ceo-courts-washington.html

-- Price

--

You may also like

A valuation of 8 billion dollars, doubling in 8 months! What makes the crypto-friendly bank Erebor Bank stand out?

Erebor is a high-profile experiment taking place at the intersection of banking, cryptocurrency, and industrial policy.

340 billion valuation: Li Yanhong's largest IPO, a seat in Kunlunxin's shares is hard to come by

As a core asset in Baidu's AI landscape, Kunlun Chip is expected to exceed Baidu's market value after going public, becoming an important bargaining chip in its turnaround battle.

Stablecoins are the "royalists" of the crypto world: Open USD brings the old currency system into play

The emergence of Open USD has shifted the competition for stablecoins from the market struggle of crypto startups to a battle for infrastructure involving traditional finance, payment networks, technology platforms, and public chain ecosystems.

Cape Verde 2-3 Argentina: The Underdog Team That Stunned the World in Defeat

Cape Verde's run ended in a 3-2 defeat to Argentina, but their journey — three unbeaten draws, one heroic goalkeeper, and a fight that pushed the defending champions to the brink — is the kind of story markets recognize too: small caps can rattle blue chips long before anyone expects it.

Semiconductor stocks plummet, yet Anthropic wants to create a 2nm chip

Abandoning TSMC and teaming up with Samsung. Anthropic launches a self-developed 2nm chip program, challenging Nvidia and starting a battle to break through computing power costs.

Where is Zhao Changpeng's billion-dollar investment going? YZi Labs' investment landscape fully revealed

Zhao Changpeng's billion-dollar new "family office" YZi Labs investment landscape revealed: 70% of the funds are committed to the crypto ecosystem, while 30% are cross-industry bets on AI and biotechnology, launching a new capital experiment in the post-Binance era.

Contents

Popular coins

Latest Crypto News

Read more
iconiconiconiconiconiconicon
Customer Support:@weikecs
Business Cooperation:@weikecs
Quant Trading & MM:bd@weex.com
VIP Program:support@weex.com