No Filter - What Tether can do for the World
Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, the blockchain that powers the most used stablecoin in the world (called USDT) is bullish about the potential of a decentralized currency, based on a distributed ledger for many reasons. Ten years have gone by since the inception of its stablecoin, and he believes they are only at the beginning of what his team can do for the world.
“It took credit cards twenty years to be understood and used by a large portion of the public. It’s unfair to judge blockchain as a failure this early, as many media outlets and financial institutions do. We have been alive for ten years, have 400 million users and 120 US $ billions of value being locked in our coins, with a strong acceleration recorded in the past three years, thanks also to the approval of new financial instruments containing crypto-currencies, like Bitcoin ETF-s for example,” says Ardoino.
Taking the whole market of money transfers back to home countries from foreign workers is a key driver of growth for the receiving markets.
“10% of that is done today via USDT, at a cost that is exponentially lower than the traditional money transfer avenues, dominated by entities with large rents and fees.”
His venture is having an impact in the lives of those who are at the margin of the global community. The goal of Tether is to remove all unnecessary intermediaries, simplifying the whole system and augmenting liquidity.
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“There is space for everyone in the world’s financial system. The goal is not to enter a war against the banks, but to take out the filters that limit the ability of people in their ability to process payments and exchange value, while enjoying the stability of a token anchored to the US dollar.
The potential to make the most strategic sectors of our global trade and life more efficient doesn’t end here. Ardoino is working on ideas of a fair marketplace for education, where AI and the use of digital currencies for micro-transactions can stimulate training, learning, exchange across individuals and institutions, in a smart and efficient way, without filters and intermediaries that may add extra fees or barriers to a free flow of information and data, with people owning their data and their intellectual power in full thanks to individual wallets.
Tether is a story of inclusion, decentralization and disintermediation, while securing stability of stored value, which is fundamental for countries that have always suffered from geo-political and economic volatility.
Interview by Frank Pagano
