Global Expansion! Stablecoin Leader Tether Announces Expansion Plans to Tackle Challenges from Traditional Financial Giants

Faced with the challenges posed by Wall Street and tech giants entering the stablecoin space, Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, has revealed its ambitious expansion plans, according to its CEO.

Recently, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated in a well-known crypto podcast "Bankless" that after 11 years of development, Tether has established "the largest dollar distribution network in human history," with millions of physical touchpoints worldwide.

He particularly emphasized the deep layout in emerging markets, such as the solar-powered self-service kiosk project in Africa:

"In Africa, we are building and have completed 500 pilot self-service kiosks equipped with solar panels and built-in rechargeable batteries. There are 400 million to 600 million people in Africa without access to electricity, so we built these self-service kiosks with solar panels and batteries. We sell a subscription service for 3 USDT per month to residents of these villages, and we currently have about 500,000 users and 10 million battery replacements."

Ardoino revealed that Tether plans to significantly expand this project. By 2026, the company will have 10,000 self-service kiosks; by the end of 2030, it will reach 100,000:

"This means that by 2030, we will reach about 30 million households, on average, 120 million people in Africa will rely on dollars existing in the form of USDT daily. This is a visible change, as it will light up the entire African continent."

Strategic Investments Widely Distributed, Empowering the Global Influence of the Dollar

In addition to the physical distribution network, Tether's investment portfolio is also crucial for its market expansion. Ardoino stated, the company has invested in over 100 companies, including a partnership with the video-sharing platform Rumble that supports free speech:

"Think about stablecoins domestically in the U.S. Rumble will launch the Rumble wallet, which has 70 million users. This is a good starting point to kickstart (stablecoin adoption). I believe this could have more active users than the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S."

Ardoino also delved into Tether's explosive growth. He stated:

"Tether has become the leading stablecoin and has such high metrics because we have 450 million users, and we add 30 million new wallets each quarter, all of which are public data. We have a website called usdt.net where we publish the latest data. For example, we have 37% of users using USDT as a savings account."

Ardoino reiterated Tether's mission, which is to extend the influence of the dollar into emerging markets:

"This is how you take the dollar further, into emerging markets. This has been our direction for many years, and it is also the least known aspect of Tether."

The GENIUS Act May Become an Obstacle for Tech Giants to Issue Stablecoins

Ardoino also mentioned the recently approved GENIUS Act by the U.S. Senate, which establishes a federal regulatory framework for stablecoins. He believes this could become a potential obstacle for tech companies to issue stablecoins:

"We need to wait and see, but it seems that companies like Meta may find it difficult to launch stablecoins. If I understand correctly, considering the GENIUS Act, if a company is not primarily engaged in financial business, there may be some degree of prohibition. At least from the wording of the bill I have seen, this is how I understand it."

According to CoinGecko data, as of April 2025, Tether's USDt accounts for 66% of the stablecoin market, with a market capitalization of approximately $150 billion. The U.S. Treasury's report for the first quarter of 2025 predicts that by 2028, the total market capitalization of dollar-pegged stablecoins is expected to exceed $2 trillion.

Meanwhile, Circle (the issuer of USDC) successfully IPO'd on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2025, raising $1.1 billion, with its stock price soaring over 200%. Major players like Amazon and several banks are also exploring the launch of their own stablecoins to seize the growing market opportunities