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Tether Invests in Kenya’s Kotani Pay to Integrate USDT with Africa’s Payment Rails

The investment targets lower-cost cross-border transfers by linking USDT to mobile-money and banking rails across the region.

Overview

  • Tether announced the deal on Oct. 21 and said USDT now facilitates transactions for more than 500 million users, alongside a reported $182 billion market cap.
  • Nairobi-based Kotani Pay specializes in on- and off-ramps that connect digital assets with mobile-money wallets and local bank transfers.
  • CEO Paolo Ardoino framed the partnership as a way to reduce friction and costs for cross-border payments used by enterprises and individuals.
  • The company cited Chainalysis research showing Sub-Saharan on-chain transaction volume up 52% to more than $205 billion in the past year.
  • Press materials and a short Kenya documentary highlight merchants paying international suppliers and families receiving remittances as inflation and currency instability push demand for stablecoins.