Original: The Block
Compiled/Organized by: Yuliya, PANews
In an era where stablecoins are gradually penetrating the global economy and AI intersects with blockchain technology, a highly controversial and influential company is quietly building its "infinite funding crack" strategy. This episode of The Block specially invites Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino to share Tether's on-chain layout thinking, billion-dollar investment directions, systematic strategy for AI and energy, and even long-term ambitions of establishing an open-source brain-computer interface system. PANews has compiled and organized this dialogue into text.
Tech Geek Transforms into Stablecoin Helmsman, Calling for Stronger US Regulation of USDT
Host: Welcome, Paolo. Could you introduce yourself and how you became the Tether CEO?
Paolo: I'm a tech maniac who has been coding for 32 years. I initially worked as a senior developer at Bitfinex, later becoming the CTO of Bitfinex and Tether, until becoming Tether's CEO in 2023. My philosophy has always been to build technologies that can persist even in the worst scenarios, rather than systems that only work in ideal environments.
Host: A few years ago, Tether faced many doubts, but now it has become one of the most profitable companies globally, with profits reaching $13 billion last year alone. How do you view this transformation?
Paolo: Our entire industry is still in its early stages. Tether was founded in 2014, introducing the "stablecoin" concept, which hardly anyone cared about in the first decade. But now, 2025 is called the "Year of Stablecoins," and the US government is developing corresponding regulations, which says it all.
This process was not easy. We built a completely new industry from scratch, naturally creating friction with the traditional financial system and encountering many obstacles, especially from the banking system. But our team never retreated, always believing in providing dollars to those excluded by mainstream finance.
For me personally, this is also the first time I've truly entered the United States - I'm 40 and only now visiting for the first time. In recent years, regulatory actions like "Chokepoint 2.0" were very unfavorable to us, but in recent communications on Capitol Hill and with administrative agencies, I can sense attitudes are improving.
The global influence of stablecoins is indeed growing daily, especially in developing countries where their role is particularly prominent. For example, the US financial system is already very sophisticated, with efficiency around 90%, where stablecoins might improve it to 95%. But in countries like Nigeria, Argentina, or Turkey, financial efficiency might only be 10% to 20%, and with stablecoins, it could leap to 50%. So for these countries, stablecoins are even more significant.
Regulatory laws should also consider this and provide appropriate safeguards for overseas issuers like USDT. USDT is a foreign stablecoin for the US, but its importance is not diminished - it's even crucial for maintaining the global status of the US dollar and purchasing US Treasury bonds.
Host: Do you think the US will launch its own stablecoin in the future?
Paolo: Even if the US launches its own digital currency, privately issued stablecoins will still play a crucial role. The success of USDT precisely demonstrates that stablecoins issued by private companies can greatly help the US. We hold a large amount of US Treasury bonds through US-based institutions like Cantor Fitzgerald, with an extremely transparent process. The US can closely supervise us without bearing the burden of issuance and management.
(Translation continues in the same manner for the rest of the text)So we launched Tether Gold because, beyond Bitcoin, this is the best asset tokenization product we can offer. Especially now, with gold prices doubling in three years, because the BRICS countries are preparing a gold-backed digital currency and building infrastructure in Africa, South America, and other regions. Such a currency, neither in Renminbi nor Ruble, but simply "gold-backed," is very attractive to these emerging markets. We hope to provide an alternative before they do.
Host: What do people really care about? Do they just want a tool for transfers and payments, without caring about the underlying technology (like blockchain)?
Paolo: They are not interested in blockchain itself. They are only concerned about one thing - fees should be low, almost zero.
We recommended some digital wallets from our partners and encouraged them to store USDT in these wallets. But we also discovered a problem: many wallets are promoting fancy features to users, such as using USDT for investing in a coin, participating in staking, buying Non-Fungible Tokens, etc. These behaviors are detrimental to household savings.
So we decided that Tether should create its own wallet focused on these markets, with savings as the core experience. We are developing an open-source SDK called Wallet Development Kit (WDK), which anyone can use to develop wallets. This wallet interface will be very simple, with only two accounts: one for daily USDT transactions and another savings account that can be used to store Bitcoin or connect to decentralized yield protocols. Developers can choose to add new features, but our default version is an extremely simplified edition designed for African users. We are simultaneously maintaining cooperation with Opera's MiniPay team and seeking more partners.
We have done the most Bitcoin education globally, but in these markets, we often receive feedback like: "I understand Bitcoin, but I still want USDT."
This is not because people are ignorant, but because they lack the time or resources to deeply understand Bitcoin. Many "Bitcoin maximalists" overlook this point, assuming everyone worldwide has the conditions to research cryptocurrency, which is not the case.
So, we want to establish trust using something familiar to them - like USDT - and then gradually guide them to Bitcoin. Education is a long-term battle that cannot be won by talking but by actually doing. Tether is investing substantial funds and resources on the ground to advance this process.
Maintaining Ecosystem Neutrality and Providing the Optimal On-Chain Path for Users
Host: Most of Tether's on-chain circulation occurs on Ethereum and Tron. Now we see more "stablecoin-specific chains" emerging. How do you view these new trends?
Paolo: Tether has never and will never create its own blockchain. I believe it's important not to cannibalize our partners' businesses. There should be an open market and fair competition between different blockchains. However, the problem is that blockchains like Ethereum have very high transaction fees. I hope to see more activity happening on chains with better user experiences and lower fees.
Therefore, Tether plans to experiment in its new wallet and products by developing an algorithm that allows users to automatically bridge part of their USDT to the blockchain with the "lowest transaction fees" and "fastest confirmation speed". This initiative aims to provide a fairer ecosystem, especially helping users who cannot afford high transaction fees. Additionally, this system will support multi-chain QR code identification to promote blockchain developers' sense of responsibility for the ecosystem.
Host: So your vision is that Tether itself will remain completely neutral to all chains, and users won't even need to know which chain their money is being sent on, and it will work seamlessly across multiple blockchains. You'll choose the best path for them based on factors like transaction fees, is that correct?
Paolo: Yes. And I even think it's not us choosing for them. We want a very open, transparent, and public algorithm that every blockchain can see. I don't want to be a referee, nor do I want to be accused of bias. As long as the algorithm is public and everyone can see it, everyone should be satisfied. It will simply route transactions to the cheapest and fastest chain.
(Translation continues in the next response due to character limit)We don't want this technology to be monopolized by centralized platforms, so we are building an open-source brain operating system. If one day I really need to implant a chip in my brain, I hope it is open-source and not controlled by a tech giant - I am indeed an obsessive person, but this is the basis for fair competition.
Currently, the company already has more than 40 patients testing the first-generation brain-computer interface chip, and the capabilities of the new generation chip are "crazy", which we are very excited about.
Host: Tether has also invested in Juventus Football Club. Is this out of interest or are there strategic considerations?
Paolo: Giancarlo (another Tether executive) and I have been die-hard Juventus fans since childhood, so this is indeed an "emotional investment".
But at the same time, we also believe that the Italian football system is very backward, almost like a bureaucratic machine. Football clubs should not be just about sentiment, but should operate more like enterprises, with profits, management, ability to buy better players, improve communication systems, and expand fan base.
Tether can help Juventus achieve these goals. We have a global digital and physical distribution network that can push Juventus' brand worldwide. Additionally, many technology companies we invest in can also provide support for Juventus.
So, while this investment began with love, we are gradually infusing it with rationality and strategy.
Not Just a Stablecoin, Tether's "Four Stabilizations" Philosophy
Paolo: When someone asks me "What kind of company is Tether", I say "Tether is a stable company" that provides three kinds of "stabilization" for society:
Monetary Stability: For emerging markets, stablecoins are already a huge leap; for developed markets, Bitcoin might be more important.
Communication Stability: This refers to freedom of speech. For a society to be stable, citizens must be able to communicate freely. If control over information flow is lost, social structures will become unstable.
Intelligent Stability: With the development of AI, if it is centrally controlled, it may cause a more severe intelligence gap than current monetary or communication disparities. For example, if the Italian government heavily relies on OpenAI's products, and one day diplomatic relations between the US and Italy break down, the entire Italian society would become "less intelligent".
We have also established a decentralized energy system in Africa. Some suggested we "build nuclear power plants", but we believe the most practical approach is distributed deployment through small renewable energy nodes.
Adding this point, our vision has now evolved from "three stabilizations" to "four stabilizations": stable currency, stable communication, stable intelligence, and stable energy. Only when these four are combined can society truly be stable.
Host: It sounds like you are doing a lot of public welfare work. Is this an imitation of "effective altruism"? Or have the shareholders already become so wealthy that they can do things that promote social progress?
Paolo: I don't want to be categorized as an "effective altruist", everyone knows what that movement ultimately led to. But we do believe that when a company has accumulated sufficient resources, there's no need to make money from every single thing.
In the future, every AI agent will have a wallet, and it should be a self-hosted wallet. In 15 years, we will have a trillion AI agents. They cannot all be connected to PayPal or Morgan Stanley's servers. I believe AI agents will transact using stablecoins and Bitcoin. If we implant a self-hosted wallet in every AI agent, these AI agents are very likely to choose USDT as one of their primary currencies.
This is the point I made in my Token 2049 speech. Tether is lucky because we possess three things:
Technical Capability: We not only built the most widely used stablecoin system globally but also developed decentralized communication platforms like Holepunch. Our tech stack is highly free and scalable.
Philosophical Concept: We come from the Bitcoin world, and we believe freedom is the ultimate goal. Tether's ultimate goal is to defend freedom.
Capital: In this aspect, we have great autonomy and do not depend on venture capital. VCs generally only want to invest in products that can be directly controlled and monetized, while point-to-point products like Keet and Holepunch are naturally uncontrollable. Therefore, we can use our own capital to build these truly open systems.
Tether is committed to maintaining independence, avoiding becoming a negative force, and even if changes occur in the future, hoping that the technologies created can exist independently, which is the core charm of point-to-point technology.
