Tether to relaunch in the US as the firm eyes market share

Increasing institutional interest and moves toward legal frameworks for stablecoins have seen the space grow, with five major projects slated to expand the market.

Five major stablecoin initiatives that could grow crypto adoption are:

* **Tether to relaunch in the US**

Tether is planning to relaunch its dollar-based stablecoin in the US, CEO Paolo Ardoino announced on April 30. The move follows concerns from US regulators over Tether’s finances and ties to the Trump administration.

Tether’s USDt is already known worldwide as the largest stablecoin on the market, providing liquidity to crypto trading pairs on numerous exchanges. However, Tether has found itself in hot water with regulators over proof of its reserves, other financial transparency and Anti-Money Laundering concerns.

In an interview with CNBC, Ardoino stated that the firm wants to launch a rebranded coin in the US, separate from its ubiquitous international stablecoin.

"A domestic stablecoin would be different from the international stablecoin," he said.

The move would give Tether access to US financial markets as the latter’s exposure to crypto widens under the pro-crypto administration of US President Donald Trump.

* **Trump dangles in the dollar with USD1**

World Liberty Financial (WLFI), the cryptocurrency project tied to the Trump family, launched its dollar-backed stablecoin, USD1, on the BNB Chain and Ethereum on March 2.

The stablecoins follow other high-profile crypto projects that use the president’s personal brand as a marketing tool, namely the TRUMP and WLFI memecoins that launched ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

Trump’s ability to influence stablecoin policy has led a group of US senators to call for an inquiry into his personal interests in the project, calling it a clear conflict of interest.

* **Custodia and Vantage Bank launch bank-issued coin on Ethereum**

Two US banks, the crypto-friendly Custodia Bank and the Texas-based Vantage Bank, have entered a partnership to issue the supposed first bank-issued stablecoin in the US, UK and Europe.

On March 25, Custodia stated that it tokenized US dollar demand deposits on the Ethereum blockchain as an ERC-20 standard token called Avit.

Custodia CEO and crypto advocate Caitlin Long said that Avit is a “real dollar” in that it tokenizes funds that customers can withdraw on demand, like checking account deposits.

* **Stripe is testing a stablecoin product**

Global payments platform Stripe is working on a US-dollar-based stablecoin product for use outside the US, CEO Patrick Collison announced on April 28.

The move comes after it received approval to acquire stablecoin payments network Bridge in a $1-billion deal in October, which it completed in February.

Bridge, which was founded by two former Coinbase executives, Zach Abrams and Sean Yu in 2022, provides cross-border payments in stablecoins and competes with firms using the ubiquitous SWIFT global payments system.

The stablecoin initiative is the latest development in the firm’s expanding crypto plans. After a false start on Bitcoin support in 2014, the firm began rebuilding its crypto team in earnest in 2021. On Oct. 9, the firm opened USDC support for users in 70 countries.

* **UAE’s largest bank to issue stablecoin**

Abu Dhabi’s International Holding Company, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding and First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) partnered to launch a dirham-backed stablecoin on April 28.

According to The National, FAB — the largest bank in the UAE — will issue the stablecoin on the ADI network pending approval from the central bank.

The ADI network is a project of the ADI Foundation in Abu Dhabi, which itself is a nonprofit organization founded by Sirius International Holding, a local holding firm with a $243 billion market capitalization.

The firms claim that the stablecoin will “have a significant impact on various industries, including finance, commerce, and trade.”

* **Visa, SBI and Mastercard add more stablecoin support**

New stablecoin issuances are picking up the pace, and payments firms, banks and financial institutions are adding support for them as well.

On April 28, international payments giant Mastercard partnered with OKX to expand its stablecoin card options, which allow cardholders to spend stablecoins through their Mastercard linked with prominent crypto firms.

Two days later, Visa announced that it partnered with Stripe and Bridge to offer stablecoin payments on its network in Latin America, starting with Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Chile.

SBI VC Trade, the cryptocurrency subsidiary of the Japanese financial conglomerate SBI, said it was preparing to add support for USDC after local regulators softened their approach to foreign stablecoins. Pending formal approval, the trading platform will be one of the first in Japan to offer cryptocurrency trading in USDC.

Regulators and payments providers worldwide are warming up to stablecoins. US lawmakers have yet to vote on the STABLE Act