Stablecoin Giant Tether Enters Oil Trade by Financing $45M Middle Eastern Crude Deal

• 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.