Tether, the issuer of the stablecoin USDT, is investing $8 million in payment infrastructure company Speed, expanding the use of USDT to include physical payments. The strategy aims to create an opportunity for cryptocurrency payments to permeate everyday commerce by combining the speed of the Bitcoin Lightning Network with the price stability of stablecoins.
On the 16th, Tether announced that it had led a strategic investment in Speed, a company building payment infrastructure based on the Bitcoin Lightning Network. This investment is interpreted as a move to expand USDT's use beyond exchange-centric trading to encompass offline and online payments.
The key to speed is the separation of payment and settlement. The payment phase leverages the Bitcoin Lightning Network to ensure immediate processing speed, while the settlement phase uses USDT to minimize price volatility. This structure ensures both consumers and merchants enjoy a fast payment experience and value stability.
Through this investment, Tether is strengthening its Bitcoin-centric financial infrastructure while accelerating the transition of USDT from a "holding asset" to a "payment method." Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the speed demonstrates that the combination of the Lightning Network and stablecoins can function effectively in real-world commercial environments.
Speed also emphasized the shift in the role of cryptocurrencies. Neeraj Patel, CEO of Speed, stated that while digital assets have long been confined to speculative instruments, Speed is transforming them into instantaneous, global, and scalable payment infrastructure. He explained that Lightning provides speed, stablecoins provide accessibility, and Speed integrates them into a single payment experience.
This investment aligns with Tether's aggressive investment strategy. Tether has recently expanded its investment horizons to include non-cryptocurrency investments, including a stake in Adeccoagro, a Latin American agricultural company, investments in privacy-focused healthcare apps, and stakes in video platform Rumble. The company's profit of over $10 billion in the first nine months of this year is driven by interest income from US Treasury bonds held as USDT reserves.
According to Tether, Speed processes approximately $1.5 billion in payments annually and boasts approximately 1.2 million individual and corporate users. Speed's infrastructure, which supports real-time payments through wallet and merchant solutions, is expected to serve as a crucial test bed for USDT's evolution into a global payment network.
