Tether said its investment arm financed 670,000 barrels of Middle East crude oil worth $45 million.
The issuer of the USDT stablecoin wants to play a role in the crucial $10 trillion global trade finance industry.
Tether said its investment division financed a $45 million crude oil transaction between a major oil company and commodity trader, part of the USDT issuer's attempt to expand beyond its influential stablecoin roots.
The issuer of USDT, the third-largest cryptocurrency, is seeking to carve out a niche within the $10 trillion trade finance industry — which plays a crucial role in facilitating international trade and commerce by reducing risks associated with cross-border transactions. Tether revealed its plan to enter commodities trade finance last month, and it's also expanding into venture capital, bitcoin {{BTC}} mining and artificial intelligence.
The October transaction involved 670,000 barrels of Middle East crude oil cargo and took place between "a publicly traded super-major oil company" and "top-tier commodity trader," Tether said.
"This transaction marks the beginning, as we look to support a broader range of commodities and industries," Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. "With USDT, we’re bringing efficiency and speed to markets that have historically relied on slower, more costly payment structures."
Tether's USDT stablecoin plays a foundational role in crypto trading, serving as a form of liquidity on exchanges and increasingly as a payments and savings vehicles in emerging economies. It's a massively profitable business: The company said it has raked in $7.7 billion in net profits this year so far, in large part from yields earned on its stockpile of $80 billion U.S. Treasury bills. The company has used profits to diversify from stablecoin issuance, investing in startups, bitcoin mining, energy production and AI.
A Wall Street Journal report last month alleged Tether is under U.S. criminal investigation for possible violations of sanctions and anti-money-laundering laws, something the company denied. Ardoino said in an interview with CoinDesk that the company respects American sanctions and is dedicated to remaining a large buyer of U.S. debt.
