USDT Special Edition for the U.S. Coming? Tether CEO Explains Company Strategy
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USDT Special Edition for the U.S. Coming? Tether CEO Explains Company Strategy
Tether CEO details company strategy: U.S. domestic stablecoin, AI, gold, brain-computer interface, and more.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsCompiled by: KarenZ, Foresight News
This week, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino engaged in an in-depth conversation with American entrepreneur and founder & CEO of Professional Capital Management, Anthony Pompliano. They discussed Tether's strategy for entering the U.S. market, plans to launch a U.S.-based stablecoin, and topics including AI, gold, and brain-computer interfaces. Paolo Ardoino also issued a warning about over-leveraged Bitcoin treasury firms.
Key takeaways from the discussion:
What are Tether’s plans in the United States?
Paolo Ardoino: The recently passed GENIUS Act has driven Tether to explore the U.S. market and created a level playing field for all financial institutions. Tether holds over $127 billion in U.S. Treasuries, recently surpassing South Korea to become the 18th largest holder of U.S. Treasuries. We’re on track to surpass another country by year-end—though it sounds wild compared to sovereign nations, it’s true. We may be one of America’s best allies. Tether plans to launch a U.S.-based native stablecoin. American banks and financial institutions will then collaborate with Tether, leveraging Tether’s global distribution network to reach new customers and revenue streams.
For example, financial infrastructure efficiency in Nigeria ranges between 10% and 20%, while in the U.S., it’s around 90%—nearly perfect. Improving Nigeria’s financial rails from 10–20% to 50% offers massive gains, whereas improving the U.S. system from 90% to 95% is marginal. Since underserved populations in the U.S. are relatively small, Tether’s products for the U.S. market must be uniquely differentiated.
How does USDT differ from Tether’s U.S. native stablecoin?
Paolo Ardoino: USDT primarily serves emerging markets (such as Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia), helping users bypass inefficient financial infrastructure—it functions more like an international stablecoin. However, USDT may not perform optimally in the U.S. market.
The U.S. native stablecoin is designed specifically for the U.S. market, optimizing user experience to integrate with the country’s mature financial systems (e.g., bank partnerships, improved payment efficiency).
In the future, hundreds of stablecoins may emerge in the U.S. market. At that point, the ease of migrating between stablecoins will become critical, and user experience and distribution capability are precisely where Tether excels.
Where can stablecoin infrastructure/blockchain be improved or innovated?
Paolo Ardoino: User experience remains the biggest bottleneck. You need a wallet, and sufficient gas fees in that wallet to send stablecoins. While account abstraction or other methods can help, you still can’t pay gas fees seamlessly in stable value—you must use volatile assets (like ETH). This needs improvement.
Commodities traders are going all-in on stablecoins, recognizing they enhance portfolio efficiency and profitability. The GENIUS Act will drive institutional adoption. Blockchains focused on stablecoins and settlements—interbank, corporate, etc.—will gain significant advantages.
Tether + AI
Paolo Ardoino: QVAC is one of the projects I’m most passionate about. The idea is to create a local AI inference and fine-tuning platform that works anywhere—from embedded devices to smartphones, laptops, or servers. The smallest device could be a brain-computer interface, car, drone, robot—or even deployed in space or on other planets.
Therefore, AI must be lean, precise, modular, and localized. AI will eventually be embedded into the very fabric of the universe—in 20, 30, 100, or 10,000 years. Within the next five years, mobile GPUs may become 10 times more powerful than today. We aim to build the first truly decentralized, unstoppable AI platform.
We’re trying to mimic the human brain, attempting to create infinite, super-powered data centers. QVAC will allow everyone to create efficient, compact local models, and via peer-to-peer technology, connect all these models without any main server or central authority, enabling queries across models to deliver optimal answers.
Tether will eventually build its own foundational model, but our first step is creating a platform capable of running any model, both locally and remotely. Local inference is one of our primary focuses, and we’re also researching peer-to-peer federated inference.
Thoughts on gold and Bitcoin?
Paolo Ardoino: I’ve said it many times—nothing beats Bitcoin. Bitcoin is perfect. Bitcoin holders mistakenly see gold as a competitor, but it isn’t. If investors believe Bitcoin is at a market cycle peak and want to exit temporarily, converting Bitcoin to gold is more rational than converting to USD, because gold better preserves purchasing power (while USD may erode due to inflation). If a global financial reset occurs within the next five years (e.g., fiat system collapse), gold’s $20 trillion market cap (far exceeding Bitcoin’s current size) may make it a more widely accepted transitional asset in traditional markets, while Bitcoin would need time to scale up.
Thoughts on Bitcoin treasury firms?
Paolo Ardoino acknowledged the market role of Bitcoin treasury firms but expressed concerns about certain aggressive strategies (e.g., excessive leverage). Ultimately, the industry will undergo consolidation and shakeout.
Tether + Brain-Computer Interface
Paolo Ardoino: In late April 2024, Tether invested $200 million in Blackrock Neurotech. Blackrock Neurotech possesses the best brain-computer interface technology and a next-generation chip offering 100x performance improvement. Headquartered in Utah, the team is highly lean.
Blackrock Neurotech is committed to ensuring brain-computer interface technology benefits humanity and remains under human control, while preventing robots from replacing humans.
Outlook on current macroeconomic conditions?
Paolo Ardoino: The U.S. is currently in a very strong position. I’m bullish on the global expansion of dollar-backed stablecoins. The U.S. has advanced its own interests through tariff policies, which, despite potentially negative impacts on other countries, have significantly boosted the U.S. economy in the short term. Europe started early in digital asset regulation but has underperformed, failing to seize technological opportunities to expand the euro’s global influence. Currency depreciation and economic fragility will rise in poorer nations, while tools like USDT provide a “Plan B” for people in these regions, mitigating shocks from local currency volatility. Tether is not only investing in gold but also expanding into land and agriculture, AI, and brain-computer interfaces.
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