Tether backs Speed with $8M to push USDT into everyday payments
Tether has led an $8 million strategic round in Speed, a payments infrastructure startup that combines Bitcoin’s Lightning Network with stablecoin settlement to enable real‑time money movement. The investment aims to extend the use of USDT beyond trading and into everyday payments.
Speed routes transactions over Lightning for near-instant, low-fee transfer, then settles in USDT so payees receive a predictable dollar-denominated value. According to Tether, Speed’s wallet and merchant products already handle more than $1.5 billion in annual payment volume and serve roughly 1.2 million users and businesses.
Tether framed the deal as part of a broader push to reinforce Bitcoin-aligned financial rails. CEO Paolo Ardoino said Speed shows “Lightning networks can handle real commerce when paired with a stable digital dollar.” Speed CEO Niraj Patel added: “Crypto has lived in the world of speculation for too long. Speed is making it usable — instantly, globally, and at scale. Lightning gives us speed; stablecoins give us universal access; our infrastructure brings it all together for consumers, creators, and merchants.”
The investment is in line with Tether’s wider deployment of profits into non‑trading ventures. The company has been buying stakes across industries — including a majority position in Latin American agricultural firm Adecoagro, a privacy-focused health app, and a stake in video platform Rumble — after reporting more than $10 billion in profit in the first nine months of the year, largely driven by interest on U.S. Treasury holdings that back USDT.
Why it matters: pairing Lightning’s settlement speed with the price stability of USDT could make crypto payments smoother and more practical for merchants and consumers, accelerating real-world use cases like micropayments, cross-border transfers, and instant merchant settlement.
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