Not long after blockchain company Ripple announced that it would launch its own stablecoin, pitting it against the likes of Tether (USDT) and Circle, the issuer of USD Coin (USDC), the Tether team made a snarky comment suggesting its competitor had been unsuccessful in its stablecoin endeavors so far.
As it happens, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse earlier told CNBC that his company decided to introduce the stablecoin in response to the ‘depegging’ of rival firms’ assets and that the competition was no deterrent, to which a Tether spokesperson replied that:
“We wish Ripple’s team would have more success with their new stablecoin than they had so far.”
Commenting on such a response, WhaleWire, a cryptocurrency analyst with a large following on social media platform X, observed that “not only will Tether’s comments age like milk, but you can also smell the fear in their statements,” considering that “Ripple’s stablecoin is its biggest competitor.”
Tether’s ‘sketchy’ investments
Furthermore, the pseudonymous analyst pointed out that Tether’s fears might be justified, as its team is “already moving beyond crypto since they know it won’t last for them, (…) investing $200M into some sketchy unknown company aiming to put computers in people’s brains,” adding that “only maxis would fall for this.”
Specifically, the analyst referred to Tether’s recent announcement of its venture division Tether Evo’s $200 million investment in Blackrock Neurotech, a company building Brain-Computer-Interface (BCI) technology that includes developing robotic arms controllable by brain signals.
According to an X post by Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, the crypto firm is carrying this out “outside of stablecoin reserves, with our own company profits (last year ~6.2B USD equiv.)” and because it believes in the “importance of giving back, investing in technologies that improve the lives of people.”
Today Tether takes the majority stake in @BlackrockNeuro_ and unveils the ultimate pillar of its long term vision and strategy: Tether Evo🧠🦾
First of all, this investment (same as energy, mining, …) is done outside of stablecoin reserves, with our own company profits (last… https://t.co/aeDWK97mq1
— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) April 29, 2024
Moving beyond crypto
Meanwhile, Tether has also recently shared its intention to “embark on an unstoppable journey beyond its most famous USDT offering” by introducing a “new framework embracing core divisions to foster resilient, future-ready financial systems,” including data, finance, power, and education.
On top of that, Tether Operations Limited announced a strategic shift into artificial intelligence (AI), “redefining AI boundaries and democratizing privacy-preserving open AI technology while setting industry benchmarks for innovation, utility, and transparency,” as Ardoino said.
Interestingly, the company has recently minted $1 billion worth of USDT as “inventory replenishment,” which raised questions about such an issuance’s legitimacy, and Whale Wire called Tether out a few minutes after it happened, arguing it printed this batch “out of thin air,” as Finbold reported on April 16.
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