In a recent interview with CryptoPotato during the Token2049 Dubai Conference 2024, Tether CEO, Paolo Ardoino, talked about AI, Bitcoin halving, recently launched ETFs, USDT market share, etc.
Ardoino, who is also the CTO of Bitfinex, believes that stablecoins, such as USDT, are created for the unbanked and not for developed countries like the US.
Tether 's CEO agreed with CryptoQuant's previous assessments that the impact of the halving event is decreasing over time.
This is because more than 19.5 million BTC have been mined and the reduction in block production is now less impactful than when it was reduced from 50 BTC to 25 BTC.
Additionally, he noted that the halving is a known event that everyone saw coming and had prepared for it in advance. Therefore, he asserted that there is a strong possibility that the halving may already be priced in, especially since bitcoin had already skyrocketed to an All-Time-High before this moment.
However, Ardoino sees bitcoin spot ETFs, launched in the US in January this year, as the most optimistic development in the crypto ecosystem.
According to BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, most retail investors have now put money into ETFs and institutional investors have yet to participate.
Ardoino said even 1-2% of large traditional hedge funds and other institutions participating could drive more significant price gains for BTC. He added that spot ETFs in the United States have made it much easier for retail investors who lack the knowledge or confidence to buy bitcoin from cryptocurrency exchanges until now. much.
While he agrees that ETFs make it easier for people to start their bitcoin journey, he also notes that these products have negative impacts. When people buy shares of a spot ETF, they act in the opposite way of what a Bitcoiner believes: that bitcoin HODLers should store their own assets outside of centralized entities.
However, all of that could change if newcomers use ETFs as an entry point and start educating themselves about the actual benefits of the world's largest cryptocurrency instead of just aiming for quick profits quickly.
“The vast majority of people still attribute the value to USD, they just want to profit from that side rather than holding the best currency in the world.”
Ardoino refuted previous rumors that the approval and launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs would cause less interest in USDT and other stablecoins. In contrast, he said USDT 's market Capital has skyrocketed by about $20 billion since January and is currently at about $110 billion.
Volume on Bitfinex, a cryptocurrency exchange that primarily serves institutional investors, have also increased significantly over the past 6 to 12 months after the ETFs went live.
Regarding competition for Tether's stablecoin, especially the recent emergence and rapid growth of Ethena's USDe, the executive said there cannot be a stablecoin industry if they are the only players in there.
He believes competition is good, but people should know the differences between all stablecoins because they are not created equal.
While many new stablecoins launch for DeFi, Tether 's goal is different:
“Tether doesn't care about DeFi. Tether is used in DeFi, but it's certainly not our primary use case. We believe our primary use case is emerging markets in developing countries who need access to dollars and are left behind by the traditional financial system.”
Tether has embarked on a number of AI-related initiatives over the past few months, and Ardoino said this trend is likely to intensify in the future. He explained that the company only uses its profits to invest in AI projects.
For example, Tether earned $6 billion by 2023 and used about 10% of it to allocate to various AI investments. At the same time, the remaining $5.4 billion was used to further enhance stablecoin reserves, something the company has been criticized for in the past.
Most recently, Tether expanded its two largest stablecoins to the TON blockchain and now has over 60 million USDT on the network.
Join Bitcoin Magazine's Telegram: https://t.me/tapchibitcoinvn
Follow Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/tapchibtc_io
Follow Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tapchibitcoin
Liu Thong Huan
According to CryptoPotato
