Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, USDT, has announced its intention to continue focusing primarily on international markets, despite the U.S. moving toward stablecoin regulation. This was stated in an interview with Bloomberg TV by the company’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino.
According to him, Tether is closely monitoring the development of legislative initiatives in the U.S., particularly the GENIUS Act, which was approved by the Senate on May 20. The House Financial Services Committee has also passed its version of a stablecoin bill, which now awaits a full vote.
– “It’s important for us to understand how the GENIUS Act differentiates between foreign and domestic issuers, but our main focus remains outside the U.S.,” Ardoino emphasized.
This statement did not come as a surprise to those familiar with Tether’s strategy. The company has long been active in Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa, where demand for stable digital assets is extremely high due to local currency volatility and limited access to U.S. dollars.
Tether has positioned itself as a tool of financial freedom in countries with unstable economies. U.S. policies — with their growing demands for transparency, reserve backing, and compliance with AML/KYC standards — could complicate operations for companies without direct ties to the American banking system.
According to the proposed legislation, stablecoin issuers must fully back their tokens with liquid assets — cash or safe instruments, such as U.S. Treasury bonds. Additionally, they must comply with the Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering standards. This could pose a barrier for many international players while opening the door for new, fully regulated stablecoins issued by banks or financial institutions.
While the U.S. builds its regulatory framework, other countries are following their own paths. For example, El Salvador, the first country to legalize Bitcoin as official currency, continues to purchase 1 BTC daily. As of now, the country’s national crypto treasury holds 6,188.18 BTC, part of a state strategy to diversify reserves.
Amid these developments, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, speaking on the One Minute Crypto show, commented on the impact of Bitcoin ETFs on the crypto market. In his view, institutional investors, including pension funds and major asset managers, now have access to digital currencies through instruments they already trust — ETFs.
– “ETFs are opening the crypto market to Wall Street. They no longer need to worry about storing private keys or dealing with centralized exchange issues. Everything runs through infrastructure they’ve trusted for decades,” Garlinghouse noted.
He also emphasized that Bitcoin ETFs reached $10 billion in assets faster than any other ETF in history, demonstrating unprecedented interest from traditional players.
All these developments point to one global trend: cryptocurrencies are increasingly integrating into the financial system, despite differing regulatory approaches. While the U.S. moves toward stricter rules, international markets continue to develop under more flexible conditions, where stablecoins and decentralized assets are playing an ever-larger role in both economies and personal finance.
Amid changes in legislation, geopolitics, and investment preferences, Bitcoin and stablecoins are strengthening their positions — not just as speculative tools, but as strategic assets in the global economy.
