Stablecoin Issuer Tether Relocates to Bitcoin-Friendly El Salvador
Tether, the company behind stablecoin USDT, is moving to Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador—a poor country that is now attracting tech talent.
Stablecoin giant Tether is moving to Bitcoin-friendly El Salvador.
The company—currently incorporated in the British Virgin Islands—announced Monday that it had acquired a Digital Asset Service Provider license in the country and was relocating all its subsidiaries to the Central American nation.
Tiny El Salvador made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021 in a bid to get its citizens to use the biggest cryptocurrency by market cap. Under its leader, President Nayib Bukele, the country is also trying to attract tech entrepreneurs.
“By rooting ourselves [in El Salvador], we are not only aligning with a country that shares our vision in terms of financial freedom, innovation, and resilience but is also reinforcing our commitment to empowering people worldwide through decentralized technologies,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement.
Monday’s announcement added that the country had a “favorable regulatory environment.” Tether did not immediately respond to Decrypt’s questions.
Tether is the company behind USDT, the most-traded cryptocurrency. With a market cap of $137 billion, it is also the fourth-biggest digital asset by that metric.