Tether Limited

Tether Limited is a financial technology company that issues the Tether stablecoin (USDT), the world’s largest stablecoin by market capitalization. Founded in 2014, Tether pioneered the concept of fiat-backed digital currencies pegged 1:1 to traditional currencies (initially the U.S. dollar). USDT has become a key source of liquidity in the cryptocurrency market, with over $170 billion in tokens circulating as of 2025. Tether Limited is privately owned (under parent company iFinex Inc., which also owns the crypto exchange Bitfinex) and has grown into one of the most valuable fintech companies; in 2025 it was reportedly seeking to raise capital at a valuation of around $500 billion, which would place it among the world’s most valuable firms.[2]

Tether Limited is now structured as a fully owned subsidiary of Tether Holdings El Salvador S.A. de C.V., a parent company domiciled in El Salvador, reflecting the firm’s shift of its corporate base and strategic expansion into the Salvadoran fintech ecosystem.[3]

History

Tether’s origins trace back to Realcoin, a startup co-founded in July 2014 by Brock Pierce, Reeve Collins, and Craig Sellars. Realcoin launched a dollar-pegged digital token built on the Omni (Mastercoin) protocol, aiming to provide a stable cryptocurrency backed by reserves.

Activities and products

Tether’s core business is issuing asset-pegged stablecoins that aim to maintain a one-to-one value with their reference asset. Its flagship product is Tether (USDT), a U.S. dollar–pegged cryptocurrency originally launched on the Bitcoin-based Omni Layer and later on networks like Ethereum and Tron. USDT is used globally as a proxy for USD in crypto trading, payments, and transfers, helping traders avoid volatility when moving between crypto-assets and exchanges. As of September 2025, USDT’s circulating supply exceeded $170 billion, accounting for roughly two-thirds of all stablecoin value in circulation.[2] In addition to USDT, Tether Limited has introduced several other fiat-pegged tokens. It launched a euro-linked stablecoin EUR₮ (Euro Tether) and an offshore Chinese yuan–pegged CNH₮ (offshore RMB) in its early years, followed by a Mexican peso stablecoin MXN₮ in 2022 to serve Latin American markets.[11] Tether also offers a commodity-backed token Tether Gold (XAU₮), unveiled in January 2020, which represents ownership of one troy ounce of physical gold stored in vaults.[6]

Acquisitions and investments

In the early 2020s, Tether began expanding its activities beyond stablecoins. The company has stated it would allocate a portion of its excess operational profits to Bitcoin and infrastructure investment. In 2023, Tether invested in sustainable Bitcoin mining projects, launching operations in countries such as Uruguay to generate renewable energy and mine Bitcoin as a diversification of its business. That year Tether also made a strategic investment in CityPay.io, a payments processor in Georgia, to foster USDT adoption for payments at merchants (CityPay enabled USDT as a payment option at hundreds of shops and restaurants).[12]

In November 2023, Tether announced that it plans to invest about half a billion dollars over the next six months to become one of the world's top bitcoin miners. That investment includes part of a $610 million credit facility that Tether had extended to publicly traded bitcoin mining company Northern Data AG after acquiring shares in the Frankfurt-based firm in September.[13]

Tether agreed in May 2024 to purchase a stake in Bitcoin miner Bitdeer and has backed startups in communication and data storage via affiliated firms for a price of $100 million.[14]

In December 2024, Tether announced a $775 million investment in Rumble, an alternative video hosting platform known for its predominantly right-wing user base.[15]

Corporate affairs

Headquarter

For much of its history, Tether Limited had no fixed public headquarters, operating through offshore entities. The main corporate entity (Tether Holdings Ltd.) was registered in the British Virgin Islands, and the company also maintained offices or personnel in Hong Kong and other locations in alignment with Bitfinex’s operations.[5] In January 2025, Tether announced it will relocate its domicile to El Salvador, making that country the site of Tether’s first official head office. CEO Paolo Ardoino and several co-founders stated they would establish residence in El Salvador as well, signaling a full commitment to the new base. The company plans to hire approximately 100 local staff over time, while many of its over 100 existing employees worldwide continue to work remote. Tether considered other jurisdictions for a headquarters but noted it lacks regulatory approval in places like the European Union and has “ruled out” the United States for now due to regulatory uncertainties.[8]

Leadership

Tether’s executive leadership has overlapped with that of Bitfinex’s parent company. Jan Ludovicus van der Velde served as CEO of iFinex (and was a figurehead leader of Tether in its early years), while Giancarlo Devasini has long been Chief Financial Officer and a key decision-maker. Paolo Ardoino, who joined as CTO in 2017, became the public face of Tether’s technology and community outreach; he was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of Tether in late 2023. In March 2025, Tether appointed a new Chief Financial Officer, Simon McWilliams, and elevated Giancarlo Devasini to the role of Chairman of the company’s board.[17] In September 2025 former Trump administration official Bo Hines was named CEO of Tether U.S, the company's US arm.[18]

Finances

By the end of 2024, Tether reported holding an all-time high of $113 billion in U.S. Treasuries (directly and indirectly) among its assets, as backing for its USDT stablecoin, making it one of the largest holders of Treasury bills globally. These figures come from Tether’s quarterly attestation reports, which are signed off by the accounting firm BDO Italia. An attestation dated January 2025 showed Tether earned over $13 billion in net profits for 2024 amid rising interest rates on its dollar reserves.[17]

Tether states that the vast majority of its U.S. dollar reserves are custodied with the Wall Street broker Cantor Fitzgerald – whose former CEO and current US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is an advocate of digital assets – and that it maintains accounts with several banks for liquidity purposes.[19]

type	Private
industry	Cryptocurrency
foundation	2014
founders	Brock Pierce Reeve Collins Craig Sellars
location country	San Salvador, El Salvador
key people	Paolo Ardoino (CEO)
net income	US$13 billion (2024)‡R1R‡
homepage	https://tether.to
products	Cryptocurrencies
num employees	ca. 200 (mid-2025)
area served	Worldwide