Tether Investments, the investment arm of the world's largest stablecoin issuer, has announced a strategic investment in Whop.com, the world's largest internet marketplace. The deal, announced on February 25, 2026, aims to power stablecoin payments for the platform's massive user base and accelerate the creation of an "internet-native" economy.
The core of the partnership involves Whop integrating Tether's open-source Wallet Development Kit (WDK). This integration will enable Whop to offer its community a new self-custodial digital wallet, allowing users to make and receive payments directly in Tether's stablecoins, USD₮ (USDT) and USA₮. The move is designed to bypass traditional, often slow and costly, payment rails, offering faster and more efficient global dollar settlement.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, emphasized the strategic vision behind the investment: "Stablecoins and wallets become most powerful when they are embedded directly into people’s lives... Our investment in Whop proudly reflects Tether’s focus on supporting real economic activity by providing efficient digital dollar and wallet infrastructure that can scale to billions of people, across every continent."
Whop is a significant platform, currently supporting over 18.4 million users who earn approximately $3 billion annually. The platform is experiencing rapid growth, with gross transaction volume increasing roughly 25% month-over-month. Tether's investment and technology are intended to fuel this momentum further, particularly by supporting Whop's aggressive international expansion plans across LATAM, Europe, and APAC.
Steven Schwartz, CEO & Co-Founder of Whop, stated the partnership "strengthens the financial backbone of our platform," aligning it with a future of borderless, instant payments. The collaboration leverages Tether's vast ecosystem, which boasts over 530 million users globally and more than $180 billion in issued digital dollars.
This investment continues Tether's aggressive diversification strategy. The company, which reported a profit of around $15 billion in 2025, has committed capital to roughly 120 companies. The Whop deal exemplifies Tether's thesis of combining stablecoins with self-custody wallets to drive real-world adoption and financial inclusion.
