Stablecoin company tether USDT
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According to CEO Paolo Ardoino, the company plans to double its current headcount to around 200 by mid-2025.
The company has historically operated as a lean team, with just over 100 employees currently spread across more than 50 countries, Ardoino told The Block. That’s despite the fact that it has issued USDT, the world’s largest stablecoin, with a market cap of $115.4 billion, according to The Block’s USDT page.
“This (streamlined) approach will allow us to optimize our operations through technology and external partnerships, and focus on our core competencies to deliver exceptional value to our customers,” Ardoino said.
But Ardoino said the company recognized the need for strategic expansion as it has achieved significant growth, including generating record profits of $5.2 billion in the first half of 2024.
“By the middle of next year, we plan to double our headcount to around 200, with a focus on strengthening our development, investment and compliance teams,” Ardoino said. “This will ensure we have the resources we need to meet the changing needs of our growing user base and ventures.” Bloomberg first reported the news.
Tether’s Growing Revenues and Competition
Tether has reinvested its profits in several projects, including decentralized AI, bitcoin mining, and a peer-to-peer messaging platform called Keet, benefiting from the post-COVID inflationary environment and the resulting rise in interest rates. The company has seen its profits grow every year since at least 2022.
Last month, Ardoino told The Block that the increased competition in the stablecoin market is not only positive, but a byproduct of USDT’s success, making the entire stablecoin industry much more robust.
“They are of course seeing how much money we are making, so it is normal for everyone to want to get a piece of it,” Ardoino said at the time.
Circle’s USDC has a market cap of around $34.4 billion, making it USDT’s biggest competitor in this space.
However, USDT, which claims to be backed 1:1 by US dollars or equivalent, is not without controversy, and has raised concerns over the lack of a full independent audit of its own reserves for years. In February 2021, the New York Attorney General’s Office settled with Tether, paying the company an $18.5 million fine and requiring quarterly certification.
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