Tether (USDT) surpasses 400 million users, confirms CEO Paulo Ardoino

Tether’s USDT stablecoin has surpassed 400 million users globally, according to CEO Paolo Ardoino.

In a recent post on X, Ardoino announced this milestone while emphasizing the company’s adoption from the bottom up. He said that they’ve always concentrated on the adoption from the ground up, working in the streets, among other people, while traditional finance was watching from their ivory towers.

The move comes amid Tether’s continued diversification of its presence outside cryptocurrency markets. This can be seen through ventures in media and farming. Ardoino’s statement highlighted the firm’s ambition of reaching one billion users.

Today Tether USDt has (conservatively) more than 400 million users across the world. Soon 1 billion.

We always focused on the adoption from the ground up, working in the streets, among other people, while traditional finance was watching at us from their ivory towers.

That's…

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) March 27, 2025

Media acquisitions expand Tether’s digital content reach

Tether is moving beyond cryptocurrency with a substantial investment in Italian media. With this, the company became the second-largest shareholder of Be Water, the parent company controlling Will and Chora Media. The stablecoin issuer has secured a 30.4% stake in the media company following a €10 million capital increase and purchase of shares from other partners.

This investment positions Tether behind only founder Guido Maria Brera in ownership stake, and ahead of co-founder Mario Calabresi. Be Water specializes in social media information and podcast content, giving Tether influence in digital media distribution channels.

According to a statement about the partnership, Tether plans to collaborate with Be Water to enhance the distribution of digital content, integrate new technological solutions, and support the international expansion of its brands. The media investment represents a diversification for Tether, which has traditionally been known primarily for its USDT stablecoin.

Agricultural investment signals move into traditional markets

Tether’s growth strategy now incorporates a foray into farm production with a transaction agreement with Adecoagro S.A., which is a leading sustainable production firm in South America. The deal, unanimously ratified by Adecoagro’s Board of Directors, will have Tether begin a tender offer to acquire up to 49,596,510 common shares at $12.41 per share in cash.

This target acquisition would account for about 70% of Adecoagro’s outstanding common stock. The closing of the transaction is subject to certain conditions, such as the valid tender of sufficient shares to provide Tether with at least 51% ownership on a fully diluted basis.

Adecoagro is engaged mainly in South America’s agricultural industry, emphasizing sustainable production practices. This investment is Tether’s largest entry into conventional markets beyond the financial technology sector.

This deal is a different kind of expansion strategy than Tether’s investments in media. While the Be Water investment provides Tether with control over content distribution and blockchain media uses, the Adecoagro investment offers partial control over physical production assets and farming operations.

User growth strategy focuses on “ground up” adoption

Tether’s approach to getting more users is really different from traditional banks, according to Ardoino’s comments. The CEO highlighted their approach to building usage “from the ground up” and “working in the streets.” This is really different from traditional finance that watches “from their ivory towers.”

This grassroots movement has been incredible in its success, with the claimed 400 million users equating to a huge percentage of the world’s users of cryptocurrency. Ardoino labeled the claimed figure as “conservative,” indicating that there may be an even greater number of users, and he also bragged about a lofty target of “soon 1 billion” users.

The focus on street-level adoption mirrors stablecoin use patterns in most markets. Further, USDT has emerged as a widely used remittance tool, savings instrument, and everyday transaction currency in nations suffering from currency instability or restricted access to banking. Focusing on use cases rather than institutional adoption, Tether seems to have developed its user base organically through utility.

A new era begins : the stablecoin multiverse.

Hundreds of companies and governments are launching (or will soon) their stablecoins.

I'm very proud to see such massive adoption of a technology that Tether created back in 2014 🙏

Good luck everyone ♥️

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) March 27, 2025

Ardoino’s declaration that “that’s why we’re unstoppable together” presents this adoption approach as a grassroots movement and not a typical corporate growth.

The referenced “stablecoin multiverse” with “hundreds of companies and governments” launching stablecoins further contextualizes Tether’s position. By highlighting the technology Tether “created back in 2014.”

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