Participants clapped and cheered as Paolo Ardoino, perhaps the public face of Crypto’s most influential company, entered the stage at the Cantor Fitzgerald Globel Technology Conference in New York on Wednesday.
Aldoino stood out from the crowd for his choice of outfit, not his wealth. While others were dressed to impress, he chose the loose appearance, namely the bright blue Ralph Lauren Polo and the grey khakis.
“This is my first trip to America,” he began. “It’s beautiful. It’s very welcoming.”
Aldoino certainly had escaped the country for a long time. Until recently, the Italian-born computer scientist focused primarily on the developing regions of Tether, with a goal of financial freedom.
Another reason is that Tether has been under scrutiny for some time by industry leaders and US authorities, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the New York Department of Financial Services (NYFSD).
That has changed. Ardoino took a tour of the US last week, posting a photo of herself on the stairs of the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Thursday, and joined a fireside chat with Strike CEO Jack Mullers at an event on Tuesday hosted by the Bitcoin Policy Institute.
Operating by just 150 employees in 50 countries, the company resolved accusations against CFTC and NYDFS inquiries in 2021, according to Ardoino. There have been numerous reports on the ongoing Department of Justice investigations of Stablecoin publishers over the past few years.
“We went through hell,” Aldoino told conference attendees. “People were saying that if I came to the US I would be arrested… they’re trying to scare you.”
“We’re still here, right?”
Overview of Tether’s previous success in the Stablecoin business – reportedly earning $13 billion in profits in 2024, Stablecoin’s USDT holds more than 60% of the market share among Stablecoins.
“The outlook for this year is also amazing,” Aldoino said.
Ardoino’s US journey came as the US Congress was moving forward to regulate the rapidly growing Stablecoin market at $200 billion. Tether dominates the asset class with $143 billion USDT cryptocurrency, followed by a US-based circle of competitors with $58 billion USDC tokens.
Tether is an offshore company, but recently announced its intention to establish its headquarters in El Salvador, and while it has yet to show interest in official entry into the US crypto market, its relationship with the US is multifaceted.
The company is one of the largest buyers of US debt and holds $100 billion worth of US Treasury and government-supported securities as reserve assets for its USDT tokens. If it’s a country, it would be one of the top 20 debt holders in the US. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at the White House digital assets summit on Friday that Stablecoins are key to maintaining the US dollar as the dominant reserve currency of the world.
The company also acquired a strong alliance in the Trump administration of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street investment company that manages Tether’s US Treasury holdings. The Wall Street Journal reported that Cantor was also investing in Tether’s holding company, and Latnic said at a confirmation hearing that Cantor holds Tether Convertible Bonds but has no fair shares.
In an interview with Coindesk last year, Ardoino said the company also put US institutions such as the FBI and Sceart Service on its platform to combat illegal activities.
On the investment front, Tether has become a major shareholder with a $775 million investment in the US list video sharing platform Rumble, popular with conservative and right-wing users in the US. With Tether’s support, Rumble CEO Chris Pavloski has introduced crypto wallets with USDT, BTC and Tether’s gold-backed token Xaut, and plans to support payments.
Pavloski repeatedly called Ardoino while on stage on Wednesday.
