Who owns Tether?

Tether is owned by a small group of private shareholders, led by co-founder Giancarlo Devasini. It is not listed on any stock exchange, so there are no public shares to buy and no full ownership disclosure. Most of what is known comes from leaked records, court cases and press reporting rather than from Tether itself.

Is Tether a publicly traded company?

No. Tether is a private company. As of October 2026 it has not listed shares on any exchange, and ICIJ reported in August 2026 that Tether had not publicly released a full picture of who owns it. Published estimates of individual stakes conflict with one another.

This is different from some other stablecoin and crypto businesses that file public accounts. For background on how a dollar stablecoin works, see what is a stablecoin.

Who runs Tether USDT?

Paolo Ardoino has been chief executive since October 2023, when he moved up from chief technology officer. Giancarlo Devasini, a co-founder, became chairman in March 2025.

The issuer of USDT is Tether International, S.A. de C.V., which is registered in San Salvador and authorized by El Salvador's National Commission of Digital Assets (CNAD) as a stablecoin issuer. Its February 2026 disclosure document says it is wholly owned by two other Salvadoran entities, Tether Operations and a Tether investment fund. That document also says Tether and the Bitfinex exchange group share some management and common shareholders, without naming them.

Tether moved its base from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador after obtaining a Salvadoran license, with Reuters reporting the plan in January 2025. Ardoino said founders and managers would also move their residences there.

Who are the Tether Limited owners?

No official shareholder list exists, but reporting gives a rough picture:

• Giancarlo Devasini. ICIJ found records showing he owned all of the holding company in early 2016 and about 43% around 2018. Recent US securities filings say he has a voting interest above 50%, which suggests he controls the company.
• Paolo Ardoino. Held about 3.5% around 2018 according to the same records. Forbes now estimates a much larger stake, around 20%.
• Other early holders. Jean-Louis van der Velde, Christopher Harborne and general counsel Stuart Hoegner have been reported as shareholders, though their current holdings are unclear.
• Cantor Fitzgerald. The Wall Street Journal reported in 2024 that Cantor acquired rights to about 5%. Tether has not confirmed this.

Is Tether the same as USDT?

Not quite. Tether is the company, and USDT is a token it issues. Tether also issues other tokens, such as the gold-backed Tether Gold, and it invests in areas such as bitcoin mining.

Owning USDT does not make you a shareholder. A USDT holder has a dollar-pegged token, while the company's profits, mostly from interest on reserves, go to its owners. Our guide to how stablecoin issuers make money explains that model, and USDT vs USDC compares Tether's token with its main rival.