Tether CEO 'open' to US domestic stablecoin amid regulatory shifts and audit push

Paolo Ardoino, chief executive officer of the world's largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, said he'd consider issuing a domestic token in the U.S.

"We are going to watch the bill for the requirements of the U.S. domestic stablecoins and we would be open to create a domestic stablecoin in the U.S.," Ardoino said while speaking on the "On the Brink" podcast published Wednesday . "But it would clearly be a different business model. So we would need to do a bit of research and understand how we can play in the U.S. It's a market we've never played [in]."

With stablecoin adoption rising , Donald Trump expressing interest and regulation looming, speculation about the future of U.S. dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies is heating up. And no conversation of stablecoins is complete without mentioning Tether, which dominates the market with over 60% share and more than $144 billion in USDT tokens issued.

Tether's relationship with regulators has had its ups and downs, to say the least. Tether's USDT stablecoin was widely delisted  by exchanges serving the European Union last year following the  passage of the MiCA regulation , since Tether did not obtain the appropriate licensing for its token.

But Tether has also not found itself in the good graces of the U.S. government, either, including in 2021 when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) ordered the company to pay $42.5 million in fines. At the time, Tether said the CFTC had "found no issues relating to Tether’s current operations" and that the fine was "related to certain disclosures about the reserves from more than two and a half years ago."

Despite its dominance of the stablecoin market, Tether has recently been ramping up efforts to improve its image including working to collaborate with the U.S. government. "We work with the DOJ almost daily, and the Treasury," Ardoino said on the podcast. 

And, it helps that Tether now has a champion in Trump's cabinet. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick , who had served as the transition team co-chair , was previously Chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald. Under Lutnick's leadership, Cantor Fitzgerald began managing the reserves backing Tether's USDT stablecoin in late 2021. Lutnick has been a vocal supporter of Tether , frequently defending it against criticism. Further strengthening these ties, Cantor Fitzgerald also acquired a 5% ownership stake in Tether .

Tether has also sought to position itself as a crusader for the just use of crypto. On Wednesday, the issuer said it helped freeze "$9 million connected to the recent Bybit hack, the largest cryptocurrency theft in history," according to a release .

A big "Big Four" audit

The issuer also appears to want to resolve the question — or doubt — concerning Tether's reserves once and for all.

Over the weekend Ardoino said Tether is engaging with one of the "Big Four" professional services firms — Deloitte, EY (Ernst & Young), PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), and KPMG — to conduct a full audit of the company's finances, which he called a "top priority."

"The audit is top of our priority list," Ardoino said during the podcast. "Our balance sheet is very easy."

Ardoino added that if Tether did issue a domestic stablecoin in the U.S., both it and its international USDT token would need to undergo a full audit, something he's confident the company's new chief financial officer could help with. 

Earlier this month, Tether appointed Simon McWilliams as its new CFO with the intention the newly installed executive will help successfully facilitate a full audit.