Tether news

Spanish bank Bankinter has taken a minority stake in crypto exchange Bit2Me as part of a €30 million funding round that also included Tether, joining other Spanish banks such as BBVA, Unicaja and Cecabank. The deal is intended to create technological and knowledge‑based synergies around distributed ledger technology. Bit2Me, a Madrid‑based firm registered under the EU’s MiCA framework, already provides backend services for Turkey’s Garanti BBVA and a joint custody‑trading platform with Cecabank. The investment bolsters Bit2Me’s capital and regulatory ambitions in Europe and Latin America, and its CFO said the partnership signals a trend toward collaboration rather than competition among banks.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts filed a civil forfeiture action to recover just over $200,000 in USDT linked to a Tinder‑based pig‑butchering scheme that targeted a local resident. The victim, who matched a fake trader named “Nino Martin” on Tinder, was persuaded to transfer about $504,353 to a fraudulent trading site; investigators later traced some of the funds to a cryptocurrency account seized in June 2025. Although crypto‑crime surged 162% in 2025, recoveries remain difficult, especially when funds move across blockchains or to stablecoins, analysts note.

Bank of Thailand has placed the stablecoin USDT under its monitoring framework, after noting that roughly 40 % of sellers on Thai platforms are foreign and that stablecoin flows could channel 'grey money.' Daily USDT volume averages 2.8 billion baht, a fraction of the FX market, but the central bank says oversight will expand to address long‑term macro‑stability. Following a Jan. 9 directive from Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, authorities tightened reporting and wallet‑ID rules for gold and digital assets. Global stablecoin supply tops $292 billion, with USDT holding about 64 %. Chainalysis data showed 84 % of 2025 illicit crypto volume involved stablecoins, prompting Tether to freeze over $3 billion across 62 jurisdictions, though controversies over its use in places such as Venezuela persist.

Tether (USDT) has become a lifeline for citizens in Venezuela and Iran, where hyper‑inflation and sanctions have eroded trust in local banks. In Iran, protesters use USDT to hedge against the falling rial, while the government caps holdings at $10 000 and has blacklisted large amounts of the stablecoin. The Iranian IRGC is alleged to have moved over $1 billion in USDT through front firms. In Venezuela, USDT is so entrenched that people pay everyday services with it, and the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela settles about 80 % of its revenue in USDT to dodge sanctions. Tether has blacklisted dozens of oil‑trade wallets, and AMLBot reports that $1.75 billion of USDT was frozen between 2023‑25, adding $182 million this week.

Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, froze $182 million worth of USDT in 24 hours, targeting Tron‑based wallets holding $12–$50 million each, as reported by Whale Alert. The five separate freezing actions, executed on January 11, were likely coordinated with U.S. law‑enforcement agencies. The move underscores how stablecoins now dominate illicit crypto flows—84 % of all such activity by the end of 2025—despite being designed to be censorship‑resistant. Over 2023‑2025, Tether froze about $3.3 billion, blacklisted 7,268 addresses, and remains the market‑cap leader with nearly $187 billion, 60 % of the stablecoin sector.

Stablecoin issuer Tether disclosed a strategic investment of between $40 million and $50 million in crypto-lender Ledn, valuing the lender at $500 million. The move, made in November, gives Tether a stake in a firm that offers stablecoin and fiat lending against Bitcoin collateral. Tether has been expanding beyond its core business, buying Bitcoin, acquiring stakes in companies such as Adecoagro and Juventus, and recently adding nearly 8,900 BTC to its treasury.

Binance has launched gold and silver perpetual futures, XAUUSDT and XAGUSDT, settled in Tether’s USDT. The contracts allow 24/7 trading of precious metals and aim to bridge traditional finance with the crypto ecosystem, with plans for more asset‑linked derivatives. The move follows a surge in demand for gold and silver, which reached new all‑time highs amid geopolitical tensions and a weaker U.S. dollar. Binance’s products are regulated by the FSRA under the Abu Dhabi Global Market, with next‑step contracts already announced.

Binance has launched regulated perpetual futures tied to traditional assets, beginning with gold (XAUUSDT) and silver (XAGUSDT). The contracts are USDT‑settled and offered through Nest Exchange, a Binance entity regulated by the Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority. Binance claims it is the first global crypto platform to secure a full suite of ADGM licenses for these products. The new TradFi Perpetual Contracts mirror Binance’s existing crypto perpetuals in fee and settlement structure, but incorporate pricing and risk‑management tools for periods when underlying markets are closed. The rollout follows broader industry interest in tokenized stocks and commodities, with on‑chain assets surpassing $1 billion in late 2025. Binance plans to add more pairs in the future.

Tether and video platform Rumble have launched a non‑custodial crypto wallet enabling users to tip creators with digital currencies. The wallet initially supports Tether’s USD‑tethered stablecoin USDT and will allow users to convert crypto to local fiat through MoonPay’s on‑ and off‑ramps. The move signals a push to use crypto as a medium of exchange rather than a speculative asset, with the partnership emphasizing peer‑to‑peer payments as the future of the internet economy.

Tether has launched "Scudo," a unit equal to one‑thousandth of a troy ounce of gold, to make the precious metal easier to use in everyday payments. The stable‑coin issuer says the new unit—paired with its gold‑backed token XAUT—could help restore gold as a universal medium of exchange that cannot be devalued by printing money. XAUT represents roughly $2.3 billion of market cap and is backed by 16.2 metric tons of gold (about $17 billion) held in secure vaults, with the option to redeem bars in Switzerland. Tether also promotes its Alloy token and noted that its Scudo unit is analogous to Bitcoin’s satoshi, worth roughly $4.48. The move comes amid growing demand for safe‑haven assets and competition from Paxos’ PAXG.