Tether’s Paolo Ardoino said the USDT Stablecoin Issuer ‘went through hell’, was made fun of at the Cantor Conference

Attendees clap and applaud Paolo Ardoino, the public face of perhaps the most influential crypto company, went on stage at the Cantor Fitzgerald Global Technology Conference in New York on Wednesday.

Ardoino stood from the crowd, not for his wealth but for his choice of clothing. While others were dressed to impress, he chose a hidden look-a light blue Ralph Lauren Polo and Gray Khak-despite the likely having the deepest pockets in the room.

“This is my first trip to America,” he began to say. “It’s nice. I feel like I’m welcoming. “

Ardoino really avoided the country for a long time. The scientist who was born in Italy until Tether’s operations has recently focused on the development of regions, with financial freedom as stated.

Another factor is that Tether may be under investigation from industry leaders as well as US authorities for hours, including the Department of Justice (DOJ), the Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the New York State Department of Financial Services (NYFSD).

That has changed. Ardoino was on a US tour last week, Posting photos of himself in steps in the US Capitol building in Washington DC on Thursday and participated in a Fireside chat Strike CEO Jack Malers included an event on Tuesday organized by the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

The company, which Ardoino says is managed only 150 employees throughout 50 countries, fixed CFTC charges and An inquiry to NYDFS in 2021. There was Many Report of an ongoing investigation by the Department of Justice in the Stablecoin Issuer as well as the last few years.

“We have experienced hell,” Ardoino told attendees at the conference. “People say that if I came to the US I was arrested … they would try to scare you.”

“We’re still here, aren’t we?”

After a rundown of Tether’s previous success in Stablecoin’s business-the company was reported to have made a $ 13 billion income in 2024 and Stablecoin, USDT, holds more than 60% of market sharing with Stablecoins-Ardoino has been to the current projects that the company is working on, including its efforts in education, AI and real-world assets (RWA) tokenization.

“The perspective for this person is amazing,” Ardoino said.

Ardoino’s US journey arrives at a time when the US legislature is moving forward to fix the $ 200 billion and fast -growing Stablecoin market. Tether manages the asset class with a $ 143 billion USDT cryptocurrency, followed by a US -based competitor with a $ 58 billion USDC token.

While Tether is a company offshore – it recently expressed its desire to promote its headquarters in El Salvador – and has not yet shown interest in formal entry into the US crypto market, its relationships with the US are multifaceted.

The firm is one of the largest owners of the debt to us, Holding Nearly $ 100 billion worth of US Treasury and security government-supported as a reserve owned for the USDT token. If it is a country, it belongs to Top 20 owners of debt in the US. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent Says During a White House Digital Asset Summit on Friday that Stablecoins was key to protecting the US dollar as the dominant reserve currency in the world, a line of argument taught by Ardoino Much occasions Before.

The company also gained a powerful allies to the Trump administration with the secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, former CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, the Wall Street investment company in charge of the US Treasury Holdings. The Wall Street Journal reported That cantor also invested in Tether’s handling company, while Lutnick Says During his confirmation hearing that Cantor was holding Tether’s transformed bonds but no equity stake.

Ardoino, in an interview with CoinDesk last year, Says That the firm is also riding in US agencies such as the FBI and secret service on its platform in an effort to combat illicit activities.

In the face of investment, tether It has been A major shareholder with $ 775 million investment in the video sharing platform listed in the US, popular with US conservative and right wing users. In Tether’s backing, Rumble CEO Chris Pavloski has laid plans to introduce a crypto wallet and support payments with USDT, BTC and gold token Xauut.

Pavloski repeatedly called Ardoino while he was on stage Wednesday.