Tether, the crypto giant behind the $137 billion USDT stablecoin, is setting up group headquarters in the bitcoin-friendly national state of El Salvador, the company said on Monday.
The company said the development came after acquiring all the necessary licenses as a stablecoin issuer in the country.
The move will allow Tether to relocate its incorporated subsidiaries to El Salvador and create its first physical headquarters, a company spokesperson said. Previously, most of the group’s entities were incorporated and licensed in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a source familiar with the company’s operations told CoinDesk. The move does not affect the company’s existing presence in the Swiss crypto hub of Lugano, the source added.
Two Tether-related companies, Tether NA El Salvador, SA de CV and Tether International El Salvador, SA de CV, obtained regulatory approval last August for most cryptocurrency-related activities in the country, according to public registry of the National Commission for Digital Technology. Assets in El Salvador (CNAD), the government’s crypto regulatory body.
“This decision is a natural progression for Tether, allowing us to build a new home, foster collaboration and strengthen our focus on emerging markets,” CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. “El Salvador represents a beacon of innovation in the digital asset space.”
The relocation is a huge step forward for El Salvador’s aspirations as a crypto hub. Tether is one of the largest digital asset companies and recorded $7.7 billion in net cryptocurrency profits in the first three quarters of 2024. That’s about 20% of the country’s annual GDP, according to IMF data.
The move could also bring significant advantages for Tether, enjoying the country’s tax benefits aimed at attracting technology and cryptocurrency companies. The “potential relocation takes advantage of El Salvador’s new ICT Innovation Law, which offers a 15-year tax exemption for technology companies on income, property and capital gains,” said Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at the investment firm VanEck.
Read more: An interview with El Salvador’s top crypto regulator: ‘Developing countries can lead the financial revolution’
Tether’s USDT is the largest stablecoin and a popular payment and remittance vehicle for users in emerging countries.
El Salvador, a small Central American country with more than 6 million inhabitants, has become a budding crypto hub under the presidency of Nayib Bukele. The country introduced bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in 2021 and created comprehensive regulations on digital assets that attracted a variety of crypto companies to set up shop. He is also a major bitcoin holder, currently holding more than 6,000 BTC worth approximately $550 million, according to Arkham data.
In other news from El Salvador, Rumble (RUM), the video-sharing platform in which Tether acquired a stake for $775 million, reached a cloud services agreement with the Salvadoran government last week.
