Tether Leads $8M Lightning Bet as Speed Pushes $1.5B Stablecoin Payments
Tether - the issuer of the world's largest stablecoin - has invested $8m in Bitcoin payments startup Speed, cementing its push to expand...
Quick overview
- Tether has invested $8 million in Bitcoin payments startup Speed to enhance stablecoin usage beyond traditional blockchains.
- Speed is developing enterprise payment infrastructure on the Bitcoin Lightning Network, facilitating fast and low-cost transactions.
- The integration of USDT allows merchants to benefit from predictable fees and instant settlements while using a dollar-pegged asset.
- Tether's investment strategy reflects a broader push towards real-world applications of stablecoins and Bitcoin in global digital payments.
Tether – the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin – has invested $8m in Bitcoin payments startup Speed, cementing its push to expand stablecoin use beyond traditional blockchains. This investment is a big boost for Speed’s work on building enterprise payment infrastructure on the Bitcoin Lightning Network – a layer-2 system that makes super-fast and low-cost transactions possible.
Tether reckons that Speed shows that Lightning and stablecoins can coexist at scale, combining high transaction volumes with regulatory compliance. The funding round also saw Ego Death Capital (a venture firm focused on the Bitcoin ecosystem) get in on the action, suggesting that investors are once again becoming increasingly interested in Bitcoin-native financial applications.
Speed lets you transfer USDT over Lightning, enabling merchants and platforms to settle payments in a flash while avoiding the congestion and fees often associated with on-chain transactions. Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, says they’re backing teams that make it easier for people to make global payments and get access to reliable ways to settle transactions.
🚨 LATEST: Tether leads $8M investment in Speed to advance Lightning Network-native Bitcoin and stablecoin payments infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/ON4yPhrWOT
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) December 17, 2025
Speed Scales Up Enterprise Payments on Bitcoin
Speed’s all about bridging stablecoins and Bitcoin infrastructure – and it’s already gained some traction. They’ve got over 1.2 million users, consisting of consumers, creators, and enterprise merchants, who use their Speed Wallet and Speed Merchant products. And it’s not just a few people playing around – they’re doing over $1.5 billion in annualised payment volume – a good sign that there’s a lot of people out there wanting to make faster crypto-based payments.
Speed’s Lightning-based system is especially appealing to businesses looking for predictable fees and almost instant settlement, especially for cross-border transactions. By integrating USDT, merchants can use a dollar-pegged asset while still benefiting from Bitcoin’s security and global reach.
Some of the key features that are driving adoption include
- Near instant settlement via Lightning channels
- Lower transaction costs compared with transferring over the base layer
- Support for enterprise compliance and reporting
- Global accessibility without needing traditional banking rails
These features make Speed a potential gateway for mainstream stablecoin payments built on Bitcoin infrastructure.
Tether Leads $8M Strategic Investment in Speed to Advance Lightning-Native, Stablecoin-Powered Payments
Learn more: https://t.co/RyeiRAwCqY— Tether (@Tether_to) December 16, 2025
Tether’s Profits are Fueling an Expanding Investment Push
The Speed investment is part of Tether’s bigger plan to diversify its investments. They now back over 140 businesses, ranging from Bitcoin mining to artificial intelligence to financial services – and even professional sports. Most of that expansion has been funded by the huge profits they’ve been raking in.
USDT, with a market cap of around $186.3 billion, is backed by US Treasury bills and earns pretty good interest income. Tether’s profits for the first three quarters of last year were over $10 billion – on top of the $13.4 billion they made in 2024, which puts them among the most profitable firms in the world, per head.
By putting money into Bitcoin-focused payment networks like Speed, Tether signals that stablecoin growth will increasingly be about real-world use. As Lightning matures and more businesses start using it, the intersection of Bitcoin and stablecoins becomes a central part of global digital payments.
- Check out our free forex signals
- Follow the top economic events on FX Leaders economic calendar
- Trade better, discover more Forex Trading Strategies
- Open a FREE Trading Account
- Read our latest reviews on: Avatrade, Exness, HFM and XM
Save