Interview | Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether

Why the name Tether, and what does it mean?

Stablecoins work differently in comparison to other cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin because their price does not fluctuate according to market forces, their value is tied to a fixed currency. Tether is tied (tethered) to the US dollar, hence the name Tether.

Why is Tether so popular?

Tether was the first stablecoin in the crypto industry and is used by tens of thousands of traders each day. It is essentially, a dollar on a blockchain, and is available on almost every single crypto platform and exchange in this world. The success of Tether comes first and foremost through word of mouth and a dedicated community that recognizes its innovation and utility.

Traders also choose Tether because it is the largest and most liquid stablecoin and has always been redeemable since its inception and the company has never refused a redemption in its history. Tether is used to move quickly and efficiently in and out of positions, which is why Tether’s utility has become increasingly more popular as the cryptocurrency industry continues to grow.

Do you currently have a specific audience that is more likely to use Tether? By age, country, socioeconomic conditions, etc.

Tether tokens are currently being used to disrupt everything from the digital payment space to e-commerce purchases to facilitating transactions within decentralized finance. They are also being used to facilitate cross-border trade and remittances to emerging markets.

Tether tokens are used across a wide range of ages and occupations. It is the product of the minds of bitcoiners that have inclusivity and democratisation of access to finance at their core. Therefore, Tether is a product meant to offer a safe harbour for the unbanked. Tether is extremely popular in emerging countries where the population is experiencing devaluation of national currencies.

Tether has also found significant use cases for migrant workers making remittances across international frontiers. Currently, these workers have to send remittances through businesses like Western Union to get money back to their families and loved ones. This is a slow and costly process, where families end up losing a big chunk of their funds to high fees. Stablecoins eliminate the broker from this equation, allowing these families to retain more of their wealth. In this way, Tether has become an instrument of freedom, allowing people in emerging markets such as Latin America to hold money on despite their local currencies being extremely volatile.

What are the advantages of using Tether, compared with other stablecoins?

Out of all the stablecoins, Tether has the highest trading volume and liquidity. It was also the first stablecoin, has withstood multiple black swan events in crypto, and has never refused a redemption in its history, making it the largest and most trusted stablecoin in the world.

Tether can easily be transferred between exchanges or people, instead of transferring money through banks. It is easy to buy and sell and is available at the place you buy your cryptocurrencies (exchanges). Tether is often used as a way to hold money on exchanges when traders feel the market is extremely volatile. Tether also supports transfers on a larger and more diverse list of blockchains including but not limited to Solana, Ethereum, and TRON.

What can you tell us about Tether Gold?

For those looking for a digital stablecoin that is not subject to fiat inflation, Tether offers Tether Gold (XAUT), a product for those wanting a stablecoin that is based on a commodity that is scarce and expensive to mine.

As such, Tether Gold allows holders to self-custody their gold-backed crypto. It is the leading asset that provides the security of a digital asset and the safety of being pegged to physical gold.

How does Tether Gold work?

XAU₮, which is available as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain and as a TRC-20 token on the Tron blockchain, can be transferred to any on-chain address from the purchasers’ Tether wallet.

Furthermore, Tether Gold (XAU₮) is the only product among the competition that offers zero custody fees and has direct control over the physical gold storage, safely held in a Switzerland vault, adopting best-in-class security and anti-threat measures.

What does the future hold for Tether? Some milestones you would like to achieve?

There is a lot still to be done in the cryptocurrency and blockchain world, right now we are focusing on projects that bring education into the space and green energy to Bitcoin mining. We strongly believe that this technology should be more accessible and understandable for everyone.

We recently also announced a collaboration with the city of Lugano in Switzerland, to demonstrate the real-world use of blockchain technologies by practically applying it to local communities in the region. To date, most blockchain projects have focused on foundational efforts that give little attention to local communities and deliver practical applications with little real-world application. With this collaboration, we hope to scale the city's blockchain capabilities and promote Lugano as a major hub for European blockchain adoption.