Amid the Broader Market Downturn, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino Has Introduced a Bold Vision

Amid the broader market downturn, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has introduced a bold vision for the future of digital assets

Amid the broader market downturn, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has introduced a bold vision for the future of digital assets, predictably enough, with a focus on stablecoins. In a recent statement, Ardoino highlighted the increasingly integral role of stablecoins in the global financial system, foreshadowing a scenario where both private enterprises and government entities will be engaging with stablecoins in droves.

Taking to X, Ardonio noted, "A new era begins : the stablecoin multiverse. Hundreds of companies and governments are launching (or will soon) their stablecoins. I’m very proud to see such massive adoption of a technology that Tether created back in 2014. Good luck everyone."

This statement followed one shared by Fidelity Investments recently. The firm made headlines after it revealed its entry into the stablecoin space, signaling the growing interest of major financial institutions in this rapidly expanding sector.

The firm’s digital assets division, which already facilitates execution and custody services for Bitcoin [BTC], Ethereum [ETH], and Litecoin [LTC], is spearheading the initiative.

That being said, in a separate tweet, Ardoino added, "Today Tether USDt has (conservatively) more than 400 million users across the world. Soon 1 billion. We always focused on the adoption from the ground up, working in the streets, among other people, while traditional finance was watching at us from their ivory towers. That’s the difference. That’s why we’re unstoppable together."

However, this statement wasn’t appraised well by the crypto community. Some like Criptovaluta.it highlighted, "It seems like everyone thinks it’s an easy business. Spoiler: it’s not."

On the market front, Circle’s USDC has been rapidly gaining traction, recently hitting a record market cap of $60.2 billion – Surpassing its previous 2022 peak of $55 billion.

Over the past 3 months, USDC has significantly outpaced Tether’s USDT in terms of growth, expanding its supply by $16.6 billion compared to USDT’s $4.7 billion.

Despite USDT’s dominance due to its deep liquidity and widespread adoption, USDC’s strong regulatory compliance, fully backed reserves, and institutional partnerships make it a formidable competitor.

However, according to data from Visa on-chain analytics for March 2025, Tether still dominates the stablecoin market. At press time, USDT had $357.35 billion in transaction volume, compared to USDC’s $207.80 billion.

Source: Visa on-chain analytics

Other stablecoins like FDUSD and PYUSD also contributed to the sector’s expansion. Despite this, the gap between USDT and its competitors remained significant.

Thus, despite who dominates the stablecoin market, given this kind of overall growth, the stablecoin era might arrive sooner than expected.