Paolo Ardoino

Paolo Ardoino
Ardoino in 2025
Born1984 (age 41–42)
Cisano sul Neva, Italy
CitizenshipItaly
EducationUniversity of Genoa (BS)
OccupationComputer scientist
Known forTether and Bitfinex

Paolo Ardoino (born 22 October 1984) is an Italian billionaire businessman and computer scientist who has served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Tether since December 2023.[1] He also serves as chief technology officer (CTO) of Bitfinex.[2]

He previously served as CTO of Tether from 2017 to 2023, during which time he was involved in the development of the company's technical infrastructure.[3] He has also been associated with initiatives related to cryptocurrency adoption and financial technology, including projects in Europe and Latin America.[4][5][6]

According to Forbes, Ardoino is the 55th-richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $38 billion as of July 2026.[7]

Early life and education

Ardoino was born in 1984 in Cisano sul Neva, Savona, Italy.[8][9] He began coding at the age of eight. He obtained a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Genoa.[10]

Career

Early career

After completing his education, Ardoino joined the University of Genoa as researcher, where he worked on research projects involving cybersecurity and cryptography for military applications.[11][12] He left the University of Genoa in 2011.[12] In 2011, Ardoino worked at a hedge fund, where he developed and calibrated trading algorithms.[13][14]

In 2013, Ardoino moved to London, where he founded Fincluster, a technology startup that built cloud-based financial service applications for fund managers and institutions across London, Milan, and Lugano.[15]

Bitfinex and Tether

In 2014, Ardoino joined Bitfinex as a software engineer.[1] At Bitfinex, he worked on the exchange’s trading engine and backend infrastructure, focusing on scalability and high availability.[16] In 2016, he became chief technology officer.[17] In 2017, Ardoino became chief technology officer of Tether.[11]

Later work and leadership

In 2022, Ardoino founded Holepunch, an open-source platform designed for building P2P products with computer scientist Mathias Buus.[18] In March 2022, he worked with Michele Foletti, the mayor of Lugano, Switzerland, to accept Tether and other cryptocurrencies for municipal payments.[4]

In December 2023, Ardoino was appointed chief executive officer of Tether.[11] Under his leadership, Tether's stablecoin, USDT, has become the largest United States dollar-backed stablecoin by market capitalization.[19] Bitfinex has also been reported to be among the largest exchanges by Bitcoin holdings.[20]

In 2022, Ardoino helped handle the effects of the Terra/LUNA collapse in May 2022, where Tether processed $7 billion in withdrawals within 48 hours, and $20 billion in the following weeks, without losing its peg. Ardoino expanded Tether's holdings of U.S. Treasury bills, Bitcoin, and gold. In 2026, Tether held more Treasury bills than countries such as South Korea and Germany.[21]

Tether has invested approximately $2.5 billion in sustainable energy and technology sectors and about $1 billion in artificial intelligence infrastructure company Northern Data[22] and $200 million in Blackrock Neurotech, an American brain implant company, taking a majority stake.[23] Ardoino has stated that these investments are funded from Tether's profits rather than customer reserves.[15]

In January 2025, Ardoino said that Tether would relocate its headquarters to El Salvador after obtaining a digital asset service provider license there, and that he and other company executives planned to move their residences to the country.[24]

Under his leadership, Tether has supported El Salvador's Volcano Energy renewable power project[5] aimed at supporting the country's Bitcoin adoption, and has invested in renewable energy and sustainable Bitcoin mining initiatives in Uruguay.[6]

2025–present

Following the passage of the GENIUS Act, Ardoino attended the signing of the legislation at the White House.[25] He was also acknowledged by President Donald Trump in opening remarks.[26]

From early 2025, Ardoino oversaw Tether's acquisition of a minority stake in Juventus Football Club. Tether first disclosed a stake in February 2025, and by April had accumulated a 10.7% holding, making it the second-largest shareholder behind the Agnelli family's holding company Exor, the first time a major European football club had counted a cryptocurrency company among its largest shareholders. In November 2025, Ardoino submitted a binding all-cash offer to acquire Exor's 65.4% majority stake for approximately €1.1 billion, pledging an additional €1 billion investment in the club. Exor's board unanimously rejected the proposal. As of early 2026, Tether retained its 11.5% minority stake and board representation. Ardoino indicated the company remained interested in the club's long-term development.[27][28]

Ardoino also helped Tether launch QVAC, an on-device artificial intelligence platform designed to run AI models locally on consumer hardware without reliance on centralized cloud infrastructure. In March 2026, Tether led a Series C funding round of up to $1.4 billion in Neura Robotics, a German humanoid robotics company, which was backed by Tether alongside co-investors including Nvidia, Amazon, Qualcomm, Bosch, and the European Investment Bank. As part of the investment, Neura Robotics integrated QVAC's edge AI runtime into its Neuraverse platform. This allowed robots to process decisions locally without centralised infrastructure.[29][30]

References

  1. 1 2 Nicolle, Emily (October 20, 2023). "Tether's Frontman Inherits Crypto's $84 Billion Behemoth". Bloomberg.
  2. ↑ "Paolo Ardoino". Forbes.
  3. ↑ "Stablecoin Company Tether Names CTO Paolo Ardoino CEO". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  4. 1 2 Benrath, Bastian (2023-12-06). "Taxpayers in Swiss City Can Settle Bills With Bitcoin, Tether". Bloomberg. Retrieved 2024-02-26.
  5. 1 2 "El Salvador Bitcoin city planned at base of Conchagua volcano". BBC Home. 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  6. 1 2 Browne, Ryan (2023-05-30). "Stablecoin giant Tether to mine bitcoin in Uruguay using renewable energy". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  7. ↑ "Paolo Ardoino". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-04-18.
  8. ↑ "Paolo Ardoino, chi è il fondatore di Tether che ora guarda alla Juventus". la Repubblica. February 14, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Paolo Ardoino, ad di Tether e nuovo azionista della Juventus: «Abbiamo la capacità finanziaria per sostenere la squadra per i prossimi 2000 anni»". Corriere della Sera. February 17, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Paolo Ardoino (Tether): "L'aumento delle tasse sui Bitcoin farà scappare dall'Italia cervelli e capitali"". la Repubblica. October 18, 2024.
  11. 1 2 3 Howcroft, Elizabeth (2023-10-13). "Stablecoin Tether appoints chief technology officer Ardoino as CEO". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  12. 1 2 "Paolo Ardoino, da ricercatore a 800 euro al mese a miliardario con i bitcoin: «Io e Giancarlo Devasini, ecco la nostra storia»". Corriere della Sera. April 5, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Paolo Ardoino: The Hardest Working Man in Crypto". www.coindesk.com. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  14. ↑ Dispatch, Token. "Paolo Ardoino: Crypto's Reluctant Banking Mogul 🧠". www.thetokendispatch.com. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  15. 1 2 Bambysheva, Nina (2024-05-09). "How Crypto Giant Tether's New CEO Is Remaking The Company For The Apocalypse". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  16. ↑ admin (2018-03-12). "Bitfinex Leadership - Paolo Ardoino - Chief Technology Officer". Bitfinex blog. Retrieved 2026-03-22.
  17. ↑ "CityAM". 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  18. ↑ "Connecting Asia's startup ecosystem". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  19. ↑ Browne, Ryan (2023-05-17). "Tether buys bitcoin with a portion of its net profit to back USDT stablecoin". CNBC. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  20. ↑ "As banks buy up bitcoins, who else are the 'Bitcoin whales'?". BBC Home. 2024-03-01. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  21. ↑ Roberts, Jeff John (January 27, 2026). "Crypto giant Tether has $187 billion in assets, big plans for U.S. expansion—and a CEO who warns the West is heading toward social collapse". Fortune. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  22. ↑ Kharif, Olga (2024-06-11). "Tether to Invest More Than $1 Billion in Deals Over Next Year". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  23. ↑ Howcroft, Elizabeth (2024-04-29). "Crypto company Tether invests $200 mln in brain-chip maker Blackrock Neurotech". Reuters. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  24. ↑ Maccioni, Federico (2025-01-13). "Crypto firm Tether and its founders finalising move to El Salvador". Reuters. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  25. ↑ Brett, Jason (2025-08-26). "Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino And Advisor Bo Hines Discuss U.S. Stablecoins". Forbes. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  26. ↑ Goodman, Jasper (2025-07-18). "Trump signs landmark crypto bill into law". POLITICO. Retrieved 2026-02-02.
  27. ↑ Nicolle, Emily; Morpurgo, Giulia (June 25, 2025). "Juventus FC's Crypto Investor Has Turned Activist and Wants a Board Seat". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  28. ↑ Rotondi, Flavia; Lepido, Daniele (December 15, 2025). "Juventus Jumps After Billionaire Agnellis Family Rejects Tether's Bid". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  29. ↑ Ghosh, Shona (June 10, 2026). "Tether Backs German Robotics Startup Neura in $1.4 Billion Round". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
  30. ↑ Ghosh, Shona (June 10, 2026). "Tether Backs German Robotics Startup Neura in $1.4 Billion Round". Bloomberg. Retrieved August 13, 2026.
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