Tether Eyes U.S. Stablecoin and Decentralized AI as It Expands Beyond USDt

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino is stepping up the company’s U.S. presence amid new regulatory discussions on Capitol Hill. 

In Manhattan, he met with reporters at Cantor Fitzgerald, which reportedly holds a 5% stake in Tether and serves as its primary custodian for U.S. Treasurys.

With $144 billion in USDt circulation, Tether remains the dominant stablecoin provider—far ahead of rivals like Circle’s USDC. 

Ardoino says the company wants to help shape U.S. regulation. “I think it’s important that our voice gets heard in the stablecoin bill process,” he says. 

“Our competitors are very tiny. They don’t represent the actual use cases of stablecoins.”

In 2023, Tether earned $13 billion from Treasury yields and other assets like Bitcoin and precious metals, since USDt holders do not receive interest. 

Circle, by comparison, reported $285 million in 2024 pre-tax profits.

Tether has previously settled with the CFTC over past reserve disclosures and now aims to bolster transparency, hiring a CFO and seeking a full financial audit. 

Ardoino says the company is exploring a U.S.-specific stablecoin to complement USDt. 

“And now we're even thinking about creating a domestic stablecoin in the U.S. How fun would that be for our competitors?”

He also criticized yield-bearing stablecoins as unsustainable. “If you have to give back all the yield, you will not make money,” he said, adding that in inflation-prone regions, users value stability over yield. 

“They don't care about it. They just want the product that works.”

Tether is also preparing to launch a decentralized AI platform later this year, positioning it as a privacy-focused alternative to tools like ChatGPT. 

“It’s actually a way to retain control of your data so you don’t have to share it with ChatGPT, for example,” Ardoino said. 

The platform will allow users to run AI models locally and interact peer-to-peer, with optional USDT wallets.

Tether has assigned about 60 engineers to the effort and expanded its venture fund to $10 billion, investing over $1 billion into data infrastructure provider Northern Data.

“I want Tether to be known, not only for its stablecoin, but for its technology—a net positive for the world,” Ardoino said.