Tether to Continue Targeting Markets Outside the US - Ardoino

May 26 | 08:28

4 min

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg TV that the company intends to continue focusing on markets outside the US, despite active discussions in the US Congress about new regulations for stablecoins.

Ardoino noted that it is especially important for Tether to understand how the documents differentiate requirements for foreign and domestic issuers, but he also emphasized that the company's core strategy remains focused on international markets, where demand for digital money is highest. New U.S. regulations require stablecoins to be fully backed by money or safe assets, such as government bonds. In addition, issuers are subject to the Bank Secrecy Act and AML/KYC rules.

While most of Tether's reserves already meet these standards, the use of instruments such as collateralized loans and Bitcoin may be prohibited under the new regulations. The company said it is ready to adapt to possible changes, but will focus on emerging markets where its product is in demand. As of May 20, 2025, USDT's market capitalization exceeds $150 billion, and the token's market share is about 60%, making it the most popular stablecoin in the world.

The company's headquarters have moved to El Salvador and its customer base numbers 420 million users, mostly those who have limited access to traditional banking.

"Stablecoins are important in the US too, but there are many ways to pay each other - through Zelle, PayPal, cards, cash. Our customers are those who do not have access to bank accounts at all," Ardoino explained.

He also commented on the information that a large consortium of American banks, including JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, are considering issuing their own stablecoin. At the same time, he said that such initiatives do not cause him any concerns, since these banks “will look towards the Western world”, while the company serves three billion people who still do not have access to a full-fledged financial space. Thus, Tether maintains its course for development in countries where digital currencies are becoming a real replacement for the banking system, despite increasing control from regulators.

Earlier, Tether announced that the total volume of issued USDT stablecoins had surpassed the $150 billion mark for the first time. Of these, $73 billion of tokens were placed on the TRON blockchain, making this network the leader in issuance for the first time, overtaking Ethereum.