Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, has responded to Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse's assertions that the US government is targeting Tether, the issuer of the largest stablecoin USDt.

Over the weekend, reports surfaced indicating that Garlinghouse had implied that increased scrutiny from the US government on Tether could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency industry. Garlinghouse remarked:

"The US Government is going after Tether. That is clear to me. I view Tether as a very important part of the ecosystem and I don’t know how to predict the impact it would have on the rest of the ecosystem."

In a detailed social media post on May 13, Ardoino addressed concerns about potential regulatory action against Tether and accused Garlinghouse of spreading "fear about USDT." He stated:

"An uninformed CEO, leading a company being investigated by the SEC, launching a competitive stablecoin (cui prodest), is being reported spreading fear about USDt."

Ardoino emphasized that Tether's ecosystem remains resilient and secure, highlighting its price stability, substantial liquid reserves, top-tier custodianship, and stringent compliance measures. He added:

"USDt is the most utilized stablecoin globally, with hundreds of millions of users primarily in emerging markets and developing countries. Entire communities in these regions, underserved by traditional banking systems due to economic constraints, rely on USDt daily as their checking and savings account."

Additionally, the Tether CEO listed various factors contributing to USDt's compliance and global adoption.

Ardoino revealed that Tether has voluntarily complied with 198 requests from law enforcement agencies to freeze wallets in the past year, with 90 originating from the US. Over the last three years, Tether has honored 339 such requests, with 158 coming from US law enforcement.

Furthermore, he highlighted Tether's collaboration with 124 law enforcement agencies across more than 40 countries and its freezing of over $1.3 billion in assets associated with fraudulent activities, hacks, and money laundering. Notably, a significant portion—over $639 million—was blocked in collaboration with US law enforcement agencies.

Ardoino concluded by stating:

"Tether collaborates directly with law enforcement agencies, whereas other stablecoins, despite claiming to be 'more compliant,' require a court order, providing hackers, scammers, and criminals ample time to move funds around."