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One crypto giant is not well known inside the U.S. It's called Tether. Under the Biden administration, it struggled to expand in the United States due in part to a controversial history that made even industry players wary. Now there's a new era of crypto regulation in America, and Tether has big plans for expansion. NPR's Rafael Nam has the story.
RAFAEL NAM, BYLINE: On a beautiful sunny day in New York this month, a crowd of Wall Street and crypto executives sipped fancy smoothies as they eagerly waited for one man.
UNIDENTIFIED EMCEE: So please join me without further ado in joining to the stage CEO of Tether, Paolo Ardoino.
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NAM: Paolo Ardoino - the Italian CEO of one of the biggest crypto companies in the world. Clad all in black, he was in Midtown Manhattan for a celebration - Tether was getting ready to launch its first U.S. subsidiary.
PAOLO ARDOINO: Today is a great day for Tether and for me personally - is, in a certain way, a very important milestone in the history of our company.
NAM: Tether is the top player in one of the most promising areas of crypto - stablecoins. Here's how it works - when you give crypto companies like Tether a hundred dollars, for example, they give you back a hundred dollars' worth of stablecoins. Right now, stablecoins like Tether's are not easily available in the U.S. yet, but they are being used in other parts of the world as digital cash to pay a merchant, for example, or to send money to a family member. Ardoino claims Tether helps people who can't access banks or ATMs do something essential - tap the modern financial system.
ARDOINO: I care about the people that are unbanked. I care about the people that are underserved. You know, those people - sorry to say - have been left behind by the traditional financial system for many, many decades.
NAM: And Tether has become big. Last year, Tether has said it made over $13 billion, a lot more than established companies like Tesla made last year. But Tether, which is based in El Salvador, never really expanded in the U.S. Yes, regulations weren't in place for stablecoins until this year, when Congress adopted new rules, but Tether also has a difficult reputation. The Wall Street Journal reported last year Tether was being investigated by federal prosecutors for potential violations of anti-money laundering rules, and that the Treasury Department suspected Tether was being used by groups sanctioned in the U.S., such as Hamas.
MARK HAYS: Inviting a company with that kind of track record to the U.S. with open arms seems to be setting up a worrisome set of conditions.
NAM: That's Mark Hays from Americans for Financial Reform, a consumer advocacy group. He mentioned several other claims that have been made against Tether. A few years ago, Tether settled with both the U.S. commodities regulator and the New York attorney general after being accused of not keeping proper accounting of its customers' reserves. And Hays has a warning.
HAYS: Crypto investors and people who want crypto to come to the U.S. should be careful what they wish for.
NAM: Tether would not make an official comment, but it pointed to previous statements denying all these accusations. Today, Tether faces few obstacles in the U.S. Under the Trump administration, several agencies have dropped previous enforcement actions. And Ardoino now meets with lawmakers in Congress. In July, he even met President Trump at the White House. It's not about courting favor, he says. It's about addressing all the lies he believes are being told about his company.
ARDOINO: Tether is the best product in the market, and we would have defended it in front of everyone because we don't have anything to fear.
NAM: Anything to fear, he says. In fact, for this crowd gathered in New York, it was a moment of celebration. Rafael Nam, NPR News.
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