Tether CEO Says Developing Economies Are Increasingly Relying on USDT

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino says USDT has become an important part of everyday commerce and international trade in several developing economies.

In a post on August 23, Ardoino said some developing countries are now relying heavily on the dollar-pegged stablecoin for both domestic and foreign trade, arguing that Tether’s financial-inclusion mission is becoming increasingly important.

USDT, issued by Tether, is designed to track the value of the U.S. dollar. Its digital nature allows users to hold and transfer dollar-denominated value without needing to physically hold U.S. banknotes.

Ardoino’s comments point to growing use of USDT in markets where local currencies are losing value, access to physical dollars is limited, or traditional financial systems make international payments difficult.

Reports have highlighted Venezuela, Argentina, Bolivia and Turkey as markets where USDT adoption has grown, although Ardoino’s original post did not specifically name those four countries.

The development is significant because USDT is increasingly being used for purposes beyond buying and selling cryptocurrencies.

In some emerging markets, users hold stablecoins as a way to preserve dollar value, while businesses can use them to make payments and settle transactions across borders.

Tether has also been positioning stablecoins for international commodity trading. Ardoino previously said he expects commodity trading and international commodity deals to become an important growth area for USDT.

For people and businesses dealing with unstable local currencies, a dollar-linked digital asset can provide an alternative way to hold and transfer value.

However, Ardoino’s statement should be viewed as Tether’s characterization of USDT adoption, rather than evidence that entire national economies are dependent on the stablecoin. There is no single public dataset measuring how much of a country’s economy relies on USDT.