Tether to Launch USAT, Its U.S. Venture, With Bo Hines as CEO

Tether has long had a bad boy image in the U.S. But with its launch into the U.S. market, and the selection of Bo Hines as CEO, it now has two strategically placed individuals either at, or with connections to, the highest levels of government. (Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who formerly served as chairman and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, which is an investor in Tether, is the other.)

Hines is an understandable pick for the giant who is starting at zero in the U.S., and entering a highly competitive space. As we saw with the Hyperliquid USDH competition this week, the stablecoin race is going to be fierce, but Tether has given itself as good of a start as it can get. 

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Tether to Launch USAT, Its U.S. Venture, With Bo Hines as CEO

Tether's appointment of the former executive director of the White House Crypto Council leverages Hines' political connections as it enters the U.S. market.

On Friday, at an event in New York, Tether unveiled its foray into the U.S. market with Tether USA₮, a new company dedicated to the USA₮ stablecoin.

The company also announced the appointment of Bo Hines, who most recently served as executive director of the White House Crypto Council, as CEO.

"Today, with the introduction of USA₮ and Bo Hines’s appointment as future CEO of Tether USA₮, we are taking the next natural step, bringing that same strength to the U.S. under a world-leading U.S.-regulatory framework,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, in a statement.

Tether's flagship product, USDT, is the world's most widely used stablecoin, with a market cap of $170 billion. It may also be the most profitable company per employee on the planet, having earned $13 billion in 2024, with 100+ employees. Its rise has also made Tether the 18th-largest holder of U.S. Treasuries.

However, the recently passed U.S. stablecoin law, the GENIUS Act, did not give entry to USDT into the U.S. market, requiring the company to chart another path. Meanwhile, Ardoino hinted in recent months that the company would enter the U.S.

The new USA₮ dollar-backed stablecoin will be GENIUS Act-compliant, and it will use Tether's Hadron technology for real-world assets, as well as Anchorage Digital as the issuer. Cantor Fitzgerald, which is an investor in Tether, will act as the designated reserve custodian and primary dealer. Cantor, Tether, and SoftBank Group launched Twenty One, a Bitcoin digital asset treasury in April 2025.

“By building USA₮ with compliance, transparency, and innovation at its core, we are ensuring that the dollar remains the foundation of trust in the digital asset space,” said Bo Hines, CEO-Designate of Tether USA₮, in a statement.

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