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TechDefused
Dec 16, 2025 8:17 PM
Updated Feb 25, 2026 7:49 PM

It is investing alonside ego death capital

Tether led an $8 million strategic investment in Speed, a payments infrastructure company building instant, global settlement rails using the Bitcoin Lightning Network and stablecoins.

Tether said in a statement it led the company’s $8 million funding round together with ego death capital and that the investment supports its strategy to strengthen Bitcoin-aligned financial infrastructure and expand USDT’s utility in real-world payment environments.

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Speed processes more than $1.5 billion in annual payment volume. The company said its products, Speed Wallet and Speed Merchant, serve 1.2 million users and businesses and offer instant payments, native BTC and USDT settlement, and high-reliability global routing for enterprise integrations. “Speed is showing what Lightning can achieve when paired with a stable, liquid digital dollar like USDT,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.

“Crypto has lived in the world of speculation for too long. Speed is making it usable – instantly, globally, and at scale. Lightning gives us speed; stablecoins give us universal access; our infrastructure brings it all together for consumers, creators, and merchants,” said Niraj Patel, CEO of Speed1, Inc. Speed said it integrates tightly with the Lightning Network while enabling stablecoin settlement to reduce friction for cross-border transactions, creator payouts, merchant payments, and platform-level settlement.

The Recap

  • Tether led an $8 million strategic investment in Speed.
  • Speed processes $1.5 billion in annual payment volume.
  • Speed offers Lightning-native settlement and USDT-based payments globally.
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