Stabecoin issuer Tether has disclosed two strategic investments this week that extend its footprint across Bitcoin mining finance and institutional fund distribution, signalling a continued push to deploy the reserves it generates from USDT into strategic equity positions across the industry.
A Schedule 13D filing dated April 20 shows that multiple Tether subsidiaries, along with chairman Giancarlo Devasini, collectively own 1.95 million ordinary shares of Antalpha, representing 8.2% of the company following its initial public offering, The Energy Mag reported. The filing is based on a total of 23.68 million shares outstanding after the IPO.
Antalpha raised approximately $49.3 million at an IPO price of $12.80 per share. Based on the 13D filing, Tether effectively subscribed to roughly half of the shares offered in the offering. The stablecoin issuer had previously indicated a non-binding interest of up to $25 million in Antalpha's prospectus filings.
Antalpha, a financial services firm closely tied to Bitmain's ecosystem, has built a loan portfolio of roughly $1.6 billion by end-2024, focusing on Bitcoin-backed lending and supply chain financing tied to mining hardware. Its model relies on third-party capital providers, allowing it to scale lending without holding credit risk directly on its balance sheet.
Separately, Tether has led an $8 million strategic round into KAIO, an Abu Dhabi-based onchain fund distribution platform. The raise brings KAIO's total funding to $19 million, with Systemic Ventures also participating in the new round alongside existing investors including Brevan Howard Digital, Laser Digital, Lyrik Ventures, Karatage, Further, and Shorooq Partners.
KAIO has raised a total of $19M, including today’s $8M Strategic Institutional Round backed by @Tether and @SystemicVentures, alongside existing investors @further and @LaserDigital_ . pic.twitter.com/wGZBfRmDz3
— KAIO (@KAIO_xyz) April 20, 2026
KAIO, incubated by Laser Digital — Nomura's digital asset arm — and WebN Group, currently manages approximately $100 million in assets and has processed more than $500 million in cumulative fund transactions since launch. Active products on the platform include funds from BlackRock, Brevan Howard, Hamilton Lane, and Laser Digital, with a Mubadala Capital product in the pipeline.
The firm is developing infrastructure to distribute institutional funds at significantly lower entry points, targeting minimums from $100 for eligible investors.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino framed the investment as a logical extension of USDT's role as a settlement layer. "This level of adoption is what makes it possible to expand access to more sophisticated financial products at a global scale," he said, citing USDT's reach across more than 550 million users globally.
KAIO operates under the regulatory framework of the Abu Dhabi Global Market and supports fund distribution across CIMA and MAS-regulated structures.
