Participants applauded and applauded when Paolo Ardoino, the public’s public face perhaps the most influential in crypto, entered the stage of the Global Technology Cantor Fitzgerald in New York on Wednesday.
Ardoino stood out from the crowd, not for his wealth but for his choice of outfit. While others dressed to impress, he opted for a casual look – a light blue ralph lauren polo shirt and gray kakis – despite probably the deepest pockets of the room.
“This is my first trip to America,” he started to say. “It’s beautiful. I feel very welcome.
Ardoino has indeed avoided the country for a long time. The computer scientist born in Italy until recently has mainly concentrated Tether’s operations in developing regions, with financial freedom as a declared objective.
Another reason could be that Tether is under the control of industry leaders as well as American authorities for some time, including the Ministry of Justice (DOJ), Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYFS).
It has changed. Ardoino is on tour in the United States during last week, publishing photos of himself on the construction stages of the American Capitol in Washington DC on Thursday and participating in a cat by the fire with the CEO of Strike Jack Mallers during an event on Tuesday organized by Bitcoin Policy Institute.
The company, which, according to Ardoino, is only managed by 150 employees in 50 countries, has established accusations of CFTC and a NYDFS survey in 2021. There have also been many reports on a current investigation into the Ministry of Justice on the Stablecoin transmitter in recent years.
“We went through hell,” said Ardodino to the conference participants. “People said that if I came to the United States, I would have stopped … They will try to frighten you.”
“We are still here, right?”
After an overview of TETHER’s previous success in the Stablescoin sector – the company would have made a profit of $ 13 billion in 2024 and its stablecoin, USDT, holds more than 60% of the market shares between the floors – Ardoino continued to present the current projects on which the company works, including its efforts in education, AI and active real (RWA) tokenization.
“This year’s prospects are also wonderful,” said Ardoino.
Ardoine’s American trip occurred at a time when the US legislature goes ahead to regulate the $ 200 billion market and the rapid growth of the stablescoin. Tether dominates the asset class with its USDT cryptocurrency of $ 143 billion, followed by the Circle of competitors based in the United States with its $ 58 billion USDC token.
While Tether is an offshore company – it recently announced its intention to establish its head office in Salvador – and has not yet shown its interest in officially entering the American cryptography market, its links with the United States is multifaceted.
The company is one of the largest buyers in the American debt, holding nearly $ 100 billion in American treasury bills and titles backed by government as a reserve asset for its USDT token. If it were a country, it would be among the 20 best owners of American debts. The Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said at a peak of digital assets of the White House on Friday that the stablecoins were essential to preserve the US dollar as a dominant reserve currency in the world, an argument that Ardodino has praised several opportunities before.
The company also obtained a powerful ally in the Trump administration in the trade secretary, Howard Lunick, former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, the investment company of Wall Street which manages the American holdings of Tether de Tether. The Wall Street Journal said that Cantor is also invested in Tether’s portfolio company, while Lutnick declared during his confirmation audience that Cantor holds convertible Tether obligations but has no participation.
Ardoino, in an interview with Coindesk last year, said that the company was also on board American agencies such as the FBI and the secret services on its platform in order to combat illicit activities.
In terms of investment, Tether has become a major shareholder with an investment of $ 775 million in the video sharing platform listed in the United States Rumble, popular among US conservative and right users. With the support of Tether, the CEO of Rumble, Chris Pavloski, presented plans to introduce a cryptographic portfolio and support payments with USDT, BTC and Tether’s gold token.
Pavloski repeatedly called Ardoino while he was on stage on Wednesday.
