Tether CEO @paoloardoino told me the world is going to a dark place but that “we are the good guys.” I sat down with Ardoino in Lugano where he shared some startling ideas. Here's what he told me:

Ardoino says governments in the UK and France are suppressing free speech to prevent people from pointing out obvious failures. He views Tether as a P2P lifeline where people can transact and communicate freely. In this context, Tether's $187 billion USDT is just the start

Tether is investing billions in other industries—from farming to telecom to AI to media. Ardoino says all of this will supply tools to build new communities and governments. His hero is the polymath sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov who wrote about similar themes

A lot of people criticize Tether—and plenty of that is justified. But it's a mistake to blow to underestimate the company or Ardoino. Tether made ~$15 billion in profits last year, and just launched a stablecoin in the U.S. They are clearly playing the long game.