Stablecoin giant Tether will move to... Bitcoin- Friendly El Salvador.

Company — currently incorporated in the British Virgin Islands —Announce On Monday, it obtained a digital asset service provider license in the country and moved all its subsidiaries to the Central American country.

Little El Salvador Make Bitcoin legal tender In 2021 in an attempt to get its citizens to use the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Under the leadership of its leader, President Nayib Bukele, the country is also trying to attract technology entrepreneurs.

“By establishing ourselves (in El Salvador), we are not only aligning ourselves with a country that shares our vision of financial freedom, innovation and resilience but we are also strengthening our commitment to empowering people around the world through decentralized technologies,” Tether CEO Paolo Arduino said in a statement.

Monday's announcement added that the country has a "favorable regulatory environment." Tether did not immediately respond DecryptionQuestions.

Tether is the company behind it USDTthe most widely traded cryptocurrency. With a market capitalization of $137 billion, it is also the fourth largest digital asset by this measure.

USDT is the largest Stable coinwhich is a digital asset designed to hold a stable value - unlike Bitcoin or... Ethereum– By having reserves of stable assets. In the case of Tether, USDT is backed by the US dollar, Treasuries, and other assets.

In the world of cryptocurrencies, Tether's USDT is very important: traders use it to enter and exit trades instead of relying on banks.

But Tether is a controversial company. Regulators have opened investigations into – and even File a lawsuit against- The company claims that it does not have sufficient transparency regarding what supports its reserves.

The company said it is open to being independently audited by one of the Big Four accounting firms.

El Salvador - apart from being Bitcoin-friendly - has gone from being one of the deadliest places on the planet to an aspiring digital nomad's paradise. President Bukele is using the country's coffers to buy Bitcoin and has more or less defeated the country's notorious street gangs.

But despite their popularity among the country's citizens, NGOs are very popular criticize Bukele for alleged human rights violations, and for imprisoning 2% of the country's population in a huge prison.

But the move to attract cryptocurrency companies may be successful: just last week, cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex Announce The derivatives arm will move to El Salvador.

Modified by Andrew Hayward