ARK Invest Details Stablecoin Evolution, Tether's 60% Market Share and Post-GENIUS Act Expansion Plans

Stablecoins reached record highs in supply, trading activity and users in 2025 after the GENIUS Act granted them legal status as privately issued digital currencies, ARK Invest reported in a discussion with Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino, economist Arthur Laffer and ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood. The report traces USDT from its 2014 launch as Realcoin on Bitcoin's Omni Layer through its rebrand to Tether, multi-chain expansion to Ethereum, Tron, Solana and Avalanche, and its shift from an arbitrage tool to a "digital dollar" lifeline in emerging markets facing currency depreciation. Tether reported a USDT supply of $187 billion, or about 60% of the stablecoin market, over 450 million users, reserves dominated by U.S. short-term Treasuries and more than $5 billion in overcollateralized assets as of January 2026. Ardoino outlined plans to expand Tether's role in commodities settlement, launch the USAT stablecoin for U.S. developed markets and deepen circulation in Latin America and Africa, while Laffer noted future stablecoins may track baskets of goods and use long-term assets like Bitcoin and gold.