Tether is expanding its organization while tightening internal controls. The company manages roughly 140 investments and has about 300 employees, with plans to hire another 150 staff to improve operations. At the same time, new CFO Simon McWilliams is centralizing finance and governance in London as the firm faces heavier regulatory scrutiny across multiple markets.
Hiring push comes with finance and governance overhaul
The latest staffing plan points to a broader shift inside Tether. The company is described as moving beyond its role as a crypto infrastructure provider and toward a more diversified financial group. McWilliams’ appointment is part of that process, with finance and governance functions being consolidated in London rather than handled in a more distributed way.
The hiring target is large relative to Tether’s current workforce. Adding 150 people to a base of around 300 would materially increase the size of the company. The source does not break down departments or job categories, but it does link the new roles directly to operational improvements and tighter organizational management.
$544 million frozen in Turkey-linked case
Compliance pressure is already visible in enforcement actions. Tether recently froze more than $544 million in cryptocurrency at the request of Turkish authorities. The funds were linked to Veysel Sahin, who was accused of illegal online betting and money laundering. CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg, “Law enforcement came to us, they provided some information, we looked at the information and we acted in respect of the laws of the country.”
Ardoino also said Tether consistently cooperates with authorities, including the DOJ and the FBI. That stance has drawn fresh attention to the company’s compliance work. According to the source material, Tether has assisted in more than 1,800 investigations across 62 countries and has frozen $3.4 billion in USDT tied to potential criminal activity.
USDt usage keeps climbing despite market instability
Even with regulatory pressure building, USDt continues to post strong adoption metrics. In Q4 2025, its market capitalization reached a record $187.3 billion, an increase of $12.4 billion. The rise came during a period when the broader crypto market was described as unstable.
Usage figures were also strong. Monthly active wallets holding USDt reached 24.8 million, equal to about 70% of all stablecoin-holding addresses. Over the same period, quarterly transaction count rose to 2.2 billion, representing about $4.4 trillion in transfer volume. Those figures show how deeply USDt remains embedded in crypto payments and fund movement.
Growth continues as risk controls draw equal attention
Analytics firm Elliptic said that by the end of 2025, Tether and Circle had blacklisted 5,700 addresses holding a combined $2.5 billion. The source also notes that USDt has been connected to higher-risk activity, including sanctions evasion and a recently reported $1 billion laundering scheme involving a Venezuelan national.
Tether’s current position is defined by both scale and scrutiny. Its wallet count, transfer volume, and internal headcount are rising, while demands from regulators and law enforcement are growing at the same time. The company’s response has centered on new hiring, centralized financial oversight, and continued cooperation in freezes and investigations.