Tether Holdings SA has partnered with the gaming streaming platform Rumble Inc. to expand the use of its newly launched stablecoin USAT in the US. Representatives of the companies announced this on Wednesday at the Token2049 conference in Singapore.
Speaking at the conference, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that Rumble will launch a crypto wallet supporting USAT and other stablecoins. The release is expected by the end of the year.
“Rumble has 51 million active users per month. That’s a huge audience compared to competitors in the US market,” Ardoino noted.
According to Bloomberg, Tether owns 48% of Rumble‘s shares, having invested $775 million in 2024. This deal gave the company significant influence over YouTube’s competitor, YouTube, which is called a conservative alternative to mainstream platforms in the US.
The USAT stablecoin was launched for US users
According to the issuer of USDT, this is a dollar stablecoin created specifically for US users, as it complies with local regulators’ requirements.
The CEO of USAT is Bo Hines, who previously served as executive director of the White House Crypto Council. The project team will be based in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Hines has a political base.
Tether has long profited from investing the reserves backing its flagship stablecoin USDT in US Treasury bonds and similar assets. At the end of the second quarter, the company from El Salvador reported a profit of $4.9 billion, according to a July blog post.
According to CoinGecko, USDT remains the largest stablecoin in circulation with an issuance volume of $174.6 billion. Its main competitor, USDC by Circle, ranks second among digital dollars but has more ties to US exchanges, including Coinbase.
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In December 2024, Tether acquired nearly half of Rumble‘s shares. Of the funds received, the company allocated $250 million for development, and used the remaining part for a buyback of up to 70 million class A shares at a price of $7.50 each — exactly what Tether paid during the investment.
The founder and CEO of Rumble Chris Pavlovski retained a controlling stake after the deal.
“Tether is a partner capable of accelerating Rumble’s development in the next phase,” Pavlovski noted.
The US stablecoin market is gaining momentum, Tether expands investments
The stablecoin sector grew sharply after the adoption of the GENIUS Act in July, which established federal rules for dollar stablecoins. The law was initiated by President Donald Trump, who also signed it in July. The document encouraged private issuers to expand their activities in the country.
After years of absence in the US due to sanctions, Tether returned to the market, paying a $41 million fine for inaccurate reserve reporting.
The company is also considering raising up to $20 billion through the sale of a 3% stake. According to Bloomberg, this could value Tether at nearly $500 billion. This level puts it alongside the largest private companies, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and OpenAI.
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An anonymous source clarified that the process is still at an early stage and the terms of the deal may still change. On the same day, company head Paolo Ardoino wrote on X that “key investors” are participating and the current “valuation is at a discount.” He did not provide details.
Ardoino added that the raised funds will help Tether develop projects in the field of artificial intelligence. The company is already hiring dozens of specialists to create an AI platform that can work even on inexpensive smartphones.
One of the first projects will be an offline translation app based on AI agents. It is planned to be used in regions with limited internet access.
