USDT stablecoin issuer Tether moves to El Salvador

Tether, the issuer of the world’s top stablecoin, USDT, is moving to El Salvador, the world’s first country to declare Bitcoin (BTC) as its legal tender.

Tether’s CEO Paolo Ardoino told Reuters that Tether will relocate to El Salvador after recently obtaining a license to operate as a digital asset service provider in the country. He and the other company’s managers will also move to the Central American country.

Previously, Tether was based out of the British Virgin Islands. Ardoino also pointed out that “this move to El Salvador will be the first time we’re going to have also a physical headquarters.”

Still, not all of the company’s staff is expected to move. Instead, Ardoino noted, many of Tether’s over 100 employees work remotely. Ardoino also noted that Tether plans to hire 100 Salvadorans over the next several years.

Market data shows that Tether’s USDT — the world’s top stablecoin — stands at a market cap of $137,25 billion at the time of writing. Circle’s USD Coin (USDC) is the second-biggest stablecoin by market cap, currently standing at $45.88 billion — or 33.43% of Tether’s.

El Salvador is famously the world’s first country to adopt Bitcoin as its legal tender back in 2021 and continued to take flak from financial regulators ever since. In October 2024, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged El Salvador to strengthen its oversight over Bitcoin transactions in the country.

The international policy body’s spokesperson Julie Kozack insisted at the time that El Salvador should limit both its Bitcoin adoption and the public sector’s exposure to it. Since 2021, the nation has mined over 456 BTC by harnessing the geothermal power generated from the Tecapa volcano and currently holds 6,028 BTC worth nearly $600 million.

The country’s economic measures appear to be working, considering that El Salvador announced a debt-free budget for the current year. The budget in question did not only cover all expenses without issuing new debt, it also covered interest on old debt.

Still, the IMF apparently got its way in the end. In December, El Salvador has agreed with the International Monetary Fund over a $1.4 billion loan package that will see the Central American nation scale back its Bitcoin program.

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