Tether's USDT Adds Over 30 Million Wallets Every Quarter, CEO Paolo Ardoino Says

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that USDT’s user base is expanding by more than 30 million new wallets each quarter, with total wallets now exceeding 550 million. This growth rate, concentrated in developing countries, translates to over 100 million new wallets per year.

Ardoino has positioned USDT primarily as dollar infrastructure for emerging markets rather than a trading tool, noting that 50-60% of USDT usage is for cross-border trade and payments.

The stablecoin’s market capitalization has climbed to around $190 billion in 2026, briefly surpassing ether to become the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value. Tether minted 2 billion USDT on Ethereum to support this growth.

Financially, Tether generated approximately $1.04 billion in net profit for the quarter ending March 31, 2026, according to an attestation by accounting firm BDO. The company’s excess reserves reached a record $8.23 billion.

Tether has also increased its bitcoin holdings, moving 951 BTC into its reserve address in April, bringing total holdings to 97,141 BTC. This makes it one of the largest corporate bitcoin treasuries globally.

In April, Tether launched tether.wallet, a self-custodial wallet app featuring human-readable addresses and no gas tokens, targeting its hundreds of millions of users. The company also plans a significant U.S. expansion, including a dollar stablecoin tailored for the American market.

Ardoino cautioned that wallet counts represent addresses, not unique individuals, as one person can hold multiple wallets. If current growth continues, USDT could add roughly 120 million wallets in the next 12 months—more than the population of Japan.

Future milestones to watch include Tether’s Q2 attestation, progress on U.S. expansion, and potential stablecoin legislation that could reshape the market.

Source: https://news.bitcoin.com/tether-usdt-30-million-wallets-quarter-ardoino/