Tether CEO Warns of US Stablecoin Rivals' "Kill Tether" Plot

Tether's CEO, Paolo Ardoino, has expressed concerns that the company's rivals are employing legal and regulatory tactics to undermine Tether's operations. In a Feb. 25 post on X, Ardoino alleged that some US-based stablecoin issuers are using political lobbying and legislative efforts to target Tether.

Ardoino claimed that these competitors' true intent is to "kill Tether," rather than focusing on building better products or expanding their distribution networks. He argued that this was a fact, supported by independent reports from people within and outside the digital assets industry who are in touch with the US administration.

Tether's USDT stablecoin has become the largest USD-backed stablecoin, enabling access to the US dollar for over 400 million people, particularly in developing economies. Ardoino warned that these rivals' actions could negatively impact users in developing countries who rely on USDT for financial stability and dollar-based transactions.

These comments come as the US government continues to develop stablecoin regulations that could potentially prevent offshore stablecoin issuers from accessing US Treasury bills. Venture capitalist Vance Spencer highlighted that these legislative efforts could amount to regulatory capture, favoring US-based stablecoin issuers at the expense of international competition. He also suggested that such restrictions could threaten the long-term dominance of the US dollar.

Tether, which currently holds over $115 billion in US Treasuries, may need to divest these holdings if the proposed laws are implemented. Spencer emphasized the importance of allowing a broader competitive set of stablecoin issuers to flourish and preventing gatekeeping or regulatory capture.

This development follows recent speculations that Tether may be forced to sell some of its Bitcoin holdings to comply with upcoming US stablecoin regulations. However, Tether has rejected these concerns, arguing that it holds excess assets that allow it to adapt to changing regulations even under the most restrictive scenarios.