- Tether, the company behind the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, is expanding its horizons beyond digital currencies and tapping into AI.
- CEO Paolo Ardoino has announced the development of Tether AI, a suite of artificial intelligence tools aimed at enhancing user privacy and decentralization.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether and CTO of Bitfinex, has given the world a preview of what could be one of the most groundbreaking shifts in decentralized technology to date: Tether AI.
Sharing on X, Ardoino dropped a cryptic but compelling teaser for the company’s next big leap. The post reads: “Coming soon- Personal Infinite Intelligence.” Behind this phrasing lies something far more powerful: an open-source AI runtime built for a decentralized world. The idea? AI that lives on your device, independent, autonomous, and unshackled from centralized servers or corporate gatekeepers.
Tether AI represents a fundamental reimagining of artificial intelligence in the age of decentralization. Ardoino describes it as a modular and composable AI framework, one that can evolve and adapt to virtually any device or hardware environment. Whether it’s a smartphone, a Raspberry Pi, or a distributed cluster of servers, Tether AI promises to work without the need for API keys or reliance on a central infrastructure.
In essence, it aims to liberate AI from the cloud and bring it to the edge. Embedded within the core of this vision is peer-to-peer interaction. Tether AI aspires to create what Ardoino calls an “unstoppable network of billions of AI agents”, working together, directly with users, across borders, and beyond the reach of corporate surveillance.
Composable Payments with USDT and Bitcoin
One more element of Tether AI is its integration with crypto payments. The runtime includes a WDK infusion, a developer toolkit designed to seamlessly integrate support for Tether’s stablecoin (USDT) and Bitcoin payments within any AI agent or application.
This would enable AI agents to transact business amongst themselves, or with users, in crypto, making possible scenarios like a translation bot costing a few satoshis per query, or an AI tutor paid in micropayments entirely in USDT. At its core, Tether AI solves some of the biggest challenges facing artificial intelligence today, including privacy, scalability, control, and trust.
Most applications in the current AI era rely on massive cloud platforms owned by a handful of tech giants. Users are compelled to connect to centralized servers, expose their data, and usually sign up for unbreakable terms of service that limit control and flexibility.
In addition, Crypto News Flash recently reported that the company is gearing up to launch a new stablecoin aimed specifically at the U.S. market, with a rollout expected by late 2025 or early 2026. This new stablecoin is being designed from the ground up to meet American legal and financial regulatory standards. The company also finalized its acquisition of a 70% stake in Adecoagro, a Latin American firm specializing in agriculture and renewable energy, as part of its long-term strategic goals.
