Tether’s CEO Says USDT Is Coming to America—And Circle’s CEO Isn’t Afraid

Minutes after President Donald Trump signed the GENIUS Act into law, the CEOs of the world’s two largest stablecoin issuers laid out their plans for complying with the landmark legislation, with each making the case that their own company is better suited to America’s new regulatory landscape.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, the world’s top stablecoin issuer, told Decrypt Friday his company intends to make sure USDT—its flagship dollar-pegged token—complies with the GENIUS Act’s regime for foreign stablecoin issuers, and thus can trade in the United States. USDT is issued by Tether from El Salvador. 

“We’ll be working very, very hard to make sure we comply with the foreign issuer pathway within the GENIUS Act,” Ardoino said. “It’s crazy that sometimes people think Tether will not comply.”

The GENIUS Act requires foreign issuers to obey stringent anti-money laundering laws and undergo intricate audit reserves. Tether’s reserves have never undergone a full audit, though Ardoino said the company intends to do so in the future.

“We have three years to make sure this process can go through properly,” Ardoino continued. “We are going to be very precise and very dedicated to that.”

In April, Ardoino told Decrypt Tether was considering creating a U.S.-specific stablecoin to better satisfy American requirements. The process of Congress drafting stablecoin legislation over the last few months had been rife with questions about whether USDT—handily the world’s dominant stablecoin, with a $161 billion market capitalization—would be boxed out of the American market under new laws. 

Ardoino said Friday that Tether still intends to create a U.S.-based stablecoin, but also get USDT approved under GENIUS. The dueling Tether offerings will cater to different clients for different purposes in America, he said. USDT, for instance, might be “mostly” used in the United States as a way to pay remittances overseas.

“There are a lot of expats [who] work in the United States, and [their] families are at home,” Ardoino said.

Tether’s commitment to bringing USDT stateside under GENIUS could be considered an unwelcome development for Circle, America’s top stablecoin issuer and the world’s second largest, which has long framed itself as a more regulatorily compliant Tether alternative.

On Friday, however, when informed of Tether’s plans, Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire appeared unaffected. He maintained that under GENIUS, his company will only be further rewarded for what he framed as its history of regulatory compliance.

“I think the GENIUS Act enshrines in law Circle’s way of doing business,” Allaire told Decrypt.  

The New York-based executive said top institutions partner with Circle because of the trust the firm has earned after years of undergoing public audits and complying with regulatory regimes around the world. 

“We think that this law obviously continues to accelerate that opportunity for us,” Allaire continued, “as we move from […] offshore crypto trading […] into the world of legal, dollar digital currency integrated into the mainstream financial system.” 

Though Tether and Circle are fierce competitors, which routinely take shots at one another, the leaders of both companies almost never find themselves in the same room. 

Friday’s GENIUS ceremony at the White House presented that rare opportunity; both Ardoino and Allaire stood behind President Trump as he signed the bill into law. 

Shortly thereafter, both men stood about 20 feet apart from each other in front of the White House, speaking to reporters. They did not say hello.