Tether Holdings Ltd., the issuer of the $115 billion stablecoin USDT, plans to double its workforce over the next year to strengthen areas like compliance and finance, according to CEO Paolo Ardoino in an interview on August 8. The company aims to have about 200 employees by mid-2025.
Bloomberg reported that Tether has seen significant growth despite its small workforce, generating $1.3 billion in second-quarter profit. This growth is largely driven by the popularity of its stablecoin, USDT. Tether’s expansion includes hiring senior staff for its finance department, which manages $118 billion in assets backing USDT.
The Roadmap Ahead for Tether
Ardoino stressed the organization’s dedication to preserving a lean and flexible workforce. He emphasised the value of hiring carefully and giving preference to seasoned experts. This strategy differs from that of bigger cryptocurrency exchange companies with thousands of employees, like Binance and Coinbase.
The unauthorised use of USDT by Tether has brought criticism on several occasions. Russian gun traffickers have been using the stablecoin to get around US restrictions, according to a Wall Street Journal article from April. Tether has declared that it is working with international authorities to make sure USDT isn’t being utilised for illicit activities.
Tether and Chainalysis Inc. announced their collaboration in May to monitor transactions, which included sanctions screening. Through this partnership, the company hopes to improve its capacity to identify and stop illegal activity in the secondary market, where USDT is exchanged on over-the-counter desks and exchanges.
An Impressive 1st half of 2024 for Tether?
Tether has also made large investments using the income from its substantial US Treasury holdings. The corporation has invested almost $2 billion in startups over the last two years, including Bitdeer Technologies Group and Northern Data Group. Ardoino is nevertheless hesitant to hire too many people despite these expenditures.
The financial situation of Tether is still becoming better. The firm said on July 31 that it had made a record-breaking $5.2 billion in earnings in the first half of 2024. With a US Treasury portfolio valued at roughly $97.6 billion, Tether has surpassed nations like Germany and Australia to become one of the world’s top holders of US debt.
Separate from the stablecoin business, Tether Investments oversees the company’s expanding ventures into artificial intelligence, bitcoin mining, and other areas of investing. The net equity value of this firm is $6.2 billion.
Increased Workforce to Meet Demands
In the cryptocurrency industry, USDT is still an essential component for trading and is becoming more and more popular in underdeveloped nations as a means of obtaining US dollars. This year, its market value increased from $91 billion to $114 billion, indicating its increasing significance in the global financial scene, as per CoinGecko data.
Tether adopted this method in response to previous sector failures, like the collapse of FTX and the bankruptcy of cryptocurrency lending companies such as Three Arrows Capital, by allocating income to accumulate excess reserves.
Strong financials and transparent communication, in Ardoino’s opinion, promote trust and dependability, which are critical in a year that saw setbacks in the cryptocurrency and banking sectors.