Tether Weighs Launching ‘Domestic Stablecoin’ in the US
America’s changing cryptocurrency landscape could soon bring Tether’s stablecoin to the U.S.
The company is considering offering a U.S.-only stablecoin, assuming the government brings forth regulations encouraging new entrants to the market, Tether’s CEO told the Financial Times (FT) in a report published Monday (April 7).
Paolo Ardoino said Tether was involved in talks about U.S. rules governing stablecoins — digital assets pegged to the dollar and other real-world assets — and that the White House views them as “an important instrument for the United States.”
He added that Tether could — depending on how things play out — create a token solely for the American market. While Tether is a widely traded coin — $144 billion of its tokens are in circulation, a figure that represents 70% of the overall market — the company does not accept U.S. customers.
The FT report notes that Tether is also — based on information from law enforcement and court records — a favorite cryptocurrency among criminals, though the company has chafed at the idea that it abets illegal activity.
The company is now waiting to see how President Donald Trump’s administration proceeds with its plans for crypto. Trump has pledged to turn the U.S. into “the crypto capital of the planet” and called for new stablecoin regulations to be ready by August.
Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has either dismissed or paused most of its legal action against crypto players. The SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance also recently determined that stablecoins are not securities and do not need to be registered.
Ardoino, whose company is based in El Salvador, told the FT that the shifting attitudes had given him the confidence to make his first-ever visit to the U.S.
If the new rules were to make American domestic stablecoins competitive, “there could be an interest from Tether to create a domestic stablecoin in the US,” Ardoino said, adding that it would be “basically a settlement currency.”
The creation of a federal framework governing stablecoins is important for industry confidence, Chainalysis co-founder and CEO Jonathan Levin said in an interview with PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster published Monday.
“Without a federal framework, it is incredibly difficult for financial services firms and international enterprises to really get comfortable in using stablecoins at scale,” Levin said.
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