How Tether's USDT Became Essential While Meme-Stablecoins Became Compliant

While "meme-stablecoins" (Ardoino's term for compliance-focused stablecoins) chased regulatory approval and institutional partnerships, Tether focused on actual user adoption and utility. This market-focused approach turned USDT into the backbone of global crypto liquidity and a top-20 holder of US Treasuries. The results speak volumes: regulatory gold stars don't matter when nobody uses your product. Tether didn't win by being rebellious—it won by understanding that in crypto, genuine utility trumps institutional approval every time.

Crypto was never meant to be about pleasing the system

While meme-stablecoins were busy getting regulatory gold stars, Tether was busy becoming the people's currency. Here's how playing nice became other issuers' biggest strategic mistake.

Let's talk about the two paths in the stablecoin revolution:

• Be the system's perfect student (meme-stablecoins)
• Be the market's reliable partner ...