Tether, which claims to be one off the largest companies in the digital assets industry, announced that it has made a strategic investment in Speed, Inc., a payments infrastructure company building instant, global settlement rails using the Bitcoin Lightning Network and stablecoins. Tether has reportedly led the company’s $8 million funding round together with ego death capital.
As stated in the announcement from Tether, Speed processes reportedly more than $1.5 billion in annual payment volume “across consumers, creators, platforms, and enterprise merchants.”
Its products (Speed Wallet and Speed Merchant) “serve 1.2 million users and businesses, offering instant payments, native BTC and USDT settlement, and high-reliability global routing for enterprise integrations.”
Tether’s investment supports its broader strategy “to strengthen Bitcoin-aligned financial infrastructure and expand USDT’s utility in real-world payment environments.”
Speed’s architecture demonstrates “how Lightning and stablecoins can operate together to move money at high scale with low fees, strong compliance, and global reach.”
Speed integrates with the Lightning Network while also “enabling stablecoin settlement for users and merchants who require price stability.”
This combination reduces friction “for cross-border transactions, creator payouts, merchant payments, and platform-level settlement.”
As noted in the recent update from the stablecoin issuer, Tether Investments is described as being the independent investment arm of Tether.
Based in El Salvador, the firm deploys capital “from Tether’s profits and excess reserves across a range of sectors where technology, infrastructure, and real-world utility intersect.”
Its portfolio includes investments in “artificial intelligence, financial services, energy, biotechnology, education, and digital media, as well as strategic stakes in industries such as commodities, remittances, and sports and entertainment.”
Tether Investments supports ventures with “long-term potential to improve access, efficiency, and resilience in both emerging and developed markets.”
Its work supports Tether Group’s mission to strengthen decentralized systems, enable infrastructure resilience, and “expand real-world access to open, transparent technologies.”
