Tether’s global layout and strategic focus

Tether is the world’s leading stablecoin issuer, with its parent company sharing the iFinex group with the renowned cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex. Its core product, USDT, has long dominated the stablecoin market—by mid-2025, USDT’s market capitalization is expected to account for more than half of the total global stablecoin market capitalization. As a digital alternative to the US dollar, USDT’s circulation scale (approximately 156 billion by 2025) far exceeds that of the second-largest stablecoin USDC (approximately 60 billion), firmly holding the top position in the industry. This market dominance makes Tether a key pillar of liquidity in the global crypto market.

In the face of an increasingly clear regulatory environment, Tether’s strategic focus is gradually shifting towards emerging markets and cross-border payments. On one hand, financial institutions and technology giants in developed countries are actively planning to issue compliant stablecoins (for example, after the U.S. Senate pushed through the GENIUS stablecoin bill, banks and payment platforms are almost all “eager to issue stablecoins”). However, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino pointed out that large banks and tech companies mainly serve wealthy and institutional users in the “Western world,” while approximately 2.5 billion people globally still do not fully enjoy financial services. Therefore, Tether is turning its attention to these unbanked populations concentrated in emerging economies, viewing USDT as a digital dollar tool for local users to hedge and remit. World Bank data shows that approximately 1.4 billion adults worldwide do not have bank accounts, primarily distributed in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. Ardoino emphasized the strong demand for stable digital dollars in these regions: “For many who have not received traditional financial services, they need something stable in their lives, and the digital form of the dollar USDT is exactly that.” Currently, about 37% of USDT users use it for savings and value preservation, with the number of users in developing countries exceeding 420 million. In some countries where the local currency is unstable or the banking system is inadequate, stablecoins have begun to act as a de facto digital dollar, helping people cope with currency devaluation and insufficient payment systems. With improved infrastructure, these most widely used digital dollar systems have the potential to be built outside of the banking system, which is precisely the opportunity for Tether to make strides in developing markets.

In terms of regulatory attitude, Tether has demonstrated a pragmatic and flexible response strategy. In light of the upcoming stablecoin legislation in the U.S. (the Senate’s “Guidance and Establishment of the U.S. National Stablecoin Innovation Act,” also known as the GENIUS Act), Ardoino stated that Tether “is gradually adapting and willing to comply” with the regulatory requirements. Because the bill mandates that offshore issuers must meet U.S.-equivalent regulatory standards to serve U.S. users (including 1:1 reserves, holding short-term U.S. Treasury bonds or insured savings deposits, and OCC registration and regulation, etc.), Tether is considering issuing a new locally compliant stablecoin for the U.S. market while maintaining USDT primarily for overseas markets. In other words, USDT will continue to focus on emerging economies, which is the “market that Tether needs the most,” while there may be a new coin with different functionalities and compliance attributes aimed at domestic payment applications in the U.S. Tether indeed supports the improvement of stablecoin regulatory legislation, hoping that the law clearly distinguishes between offshore and domestic issuers so that it can adjust its strategies accordingly. At the same time, Tether adopts a cautious attitude towards regulatory requirements from other countries, such as Europe’s MiCA (for instance, MiCA requires that U.S. dollar stablecoins hold 60% of their reserves in cash within the Eurozone, which Ardoino criticized as “a bad idea”). Overall, Tether is balancing compliance and innovation globally: on one hand, preparing to meet regulations in regulated markets like the U.S., while on the other hand, focusing its growth on emerging markets with strong demand but relatively loose regulations, expanding the usage of USDT through cross-border payments, trade settlements, and other scenarios.

It is worth mentioning that with the enormous profits in recent years (mainly from the interest income of reserve assets), Tether has abundant financial reserves to support a diversified layout. Reports indicate that Tether is actively investing in areas such as infrastructure, artificial intelligence, energy, and communications, utilizing record profits and vast financial reserves. For example, Tether is developing Bitcoin mining and renewable energy in El Salvador and deploying a peer-to-peer communication platform globally to support censorship-resistant decentralized internet infrastructure. These initiatives reflect Tether’s strategy to build a risk-resistant, cross-domain digital ecosystem: promoting innovation, financial inclusivity, and decentralization through extensive investments, which synergizes with its stablecoin business. Against this larger backdrop, strategic investments in content platforms are an important step for Tether to expand its ecological boundaries.

The background and long-term motivation for investing in Rumble.

At the end of 2024, Tether announced a strategic investment of $775 million in the video platform Rumble (NASDAQ: RUM), causing a stir in the industry. According to the agreement, Tether will purchase 103.3 million shares of Rumble Class A common stock at a price of $7.50 per share, with $250 million as a direct cash injection to support Rumble’s operations and expansion, and the remaining funds to acquire circulating shares (with a maximum of 70 million shares through a tender offer). This investment led to a significant increase in Rumble’s stock price, which soared over 40% in after-hours trading. On the surface, Tether has become a major shareholder in Rumble (holding about 17% of the shares), but Rumble’s founder and CEO Chris Pavlovski retains super voting rights, and Tether did not request a board seat, reflecting a purely strategic collaboration.

Tether’s investment in Rumble is far from a typical financial investment; it is a key part of its global stablecoin strategy. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino explicitly stated that this move reflects the shared values of both parties in terms of decentralization, independence, transparency, and freedom of speech. He pointed out that traditional mainstream media’s credibility is waning, creating opportunities for “trustworthy and uncensored alternative platforms” like Rumble. Through this collaboration, Tether aims to inject its advantages in the crypto finance sector into Rumble, conducting in-depth cooperation in advertising, cloud services, and crypto payments. In other words, Tether sees Rumble as a traffic entry point and application scenario expansion platform for the stablecoin ecosystem: in the future, the two parties will integrate Tether’s advertising system, cloud infrastructure, and payment solutions based on cryptocurrencies like USDT on Rumble. For Tether, this means that its stablecoin has the opportunity to be embedded in a rapidly growing content platform, directly reaching a massive number of end users and content creators, thereby establishing a closed-loop ecosystem from stablecoin issuance to consumption payments.

From Rumble’s perspective, the introduction of Tether capital and cooperation is equally strategic. Rumble CEO Pavlovski likened this investment to equipping Rumble with a “rocket booster,” which will assist the platform in advancing to the next stage of growth. He emphasized that the high overlap between the crypto community and the free speech community makes this collaboration “natural.” In fact, many cryptocurrency enthusiasts and internet users advocating for diverse speech share a common passion for freedom, transparency, and decentralization. Therefore, Tether’s investment not only injects significant funds into Rumble but also brings ideological allies and extends the technological ecosystem. Pavlovski noted that this deal immediately adds $250 million in cash to Rumble’s balance sheet, greatly supporting the company’s efforts to achieve EBITDA breakeven by 2025. At the same time, the takeover offer provided by Tether also gives existing shareholders an opportunity to exit and realize their investments, optimizing the company’s equity structure. He stated, “I genuinely believe that Tether is the perfect partner to equip Rumble with a rocket booster.” It is foreseeable that with Tether’s support, Rumble will accelerate the expansion of its business landscape (including global markets and Web3 features) and further consolidate its position as a “no-censorship content platform.”

In summary, Tether’s investment in Rumble is a strategic move centered around the “content platform + payment gateway” layout. It not only leverages Rumble to bridge the last mile of stablecoin applications (reaching end users and content scenarios), but also responds to its mission of “empowering a decentralized ecosystem” (supporting emerging independent media to challenge centralized platforms). This aligns with Tether’s recent diversified investment strategy: utilizing its substantial financial resources to support projects with shared values in key strategic areas (energy, artificial intelligence, communication, media, etc.), thereby building a cross-domain, censorship-resistant application ecosystem for USDT. Rumble is a core component in this strategy within the content sector, and its significance extends beyond financial returns, reflecting more on ecological synergy and traffic monetization potential.

Non-custodial wallet collaboration: Significance under stablecoin legislation

With the investment landing, Tether and Rumble immediately embarked on substantial product cooperation. Among the most eye-catching is the Rumble Crypto Wallet (tentative name) that both parties plan to launch in the third quarter of 2025, which is a non-custodial crypto wallet aimed at content creators. According to the announcement, this “Rumble Wallet” will be developed with Tether’s technical and financial support, supporting various crypto assets including Bitcoin, USDT (Tether), and potentially Tether Gold (XAUT). Unlike centralized exchange wallets, the Rumble Wallet will allow users to manage their private keys independently, providing decentralized asset storage and payment functions, directly embedded within the Rumble platform ecosystem. This move is seen as a challenge to mainstream crypto wallets like Coinbase Wallet, aiming to tailor decentralized financial solutions for content creators.

The collaboration between Rumble and Tether to develop a non-custodial wallet has multiple strategic significances, especially in the current U.S. stablecoin legislative and regulatory environment, making it timely. First, from the perspective of the creator economy, this wallet will provide content creators on the Rumble platform with a new monetization avenue—creators can directly receive cryptocurrency tips or content payment from fans, without having to rely entirely on ad revenue or traditional payment channels. Many creators in various countries have limited income on platforms like YouTube due to low ad rates, but with the Rumble wallet, creators can receive USDT sponsorships from a global audience, achieving dollar-denominated earnings. This is particularly important for content producers in regions with weak advertising markets; the Rumble wallet aims to empower creators in international markets, compensating for the shortcomings of traditional advertising models. Second, this non-custodial wallet allows users to truly control their assets, mitigating the risks associated with platform custody, which aligns with the decentralized and autonomy principles advocated by Rumble and Tether. Introducing self-controlled payment methods on a free speech platform ensures that creators are not ‘starved’ due to political bias or payment censorship. In other words, this creates an anti-censorship economic lifeline for the creator community: even if mainstream financial services refuse certain controversial content creators, stablecoin tips and payments can still be smoothly conducted through the Rumble platform.

From a macro perspective, the regulatory framework surrounding stablecoins in the United States is rapidly becoming clearer. In June 2025, the Senate passed the landmark GENIUS Act stablecoin bill with a significant majority. This bill requires payment stablecoins to have 100% reserves (limited to short-term U.S. Treasury bonds or insured deposits), prohibits issuers from paying interest, and implements clear licensing management for stablecoin issuance, among other provisions. Although the regulations are still pending review and final approval by the House of Representatives, the signal is clear: stablecoins are gaining recognition and regulation from mainstream legislative bodies, and in the future, they may become legitimate tools for payment and settlement. Against this backdrop, Rumble and Tether are strategically positioning themselves in the wallet business, which can be seen as an early capture of regulatory benefits. First, compliant stablecoins (such as those pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar and subject to regulatory audits) will gain greater public trust, reducing psychological barriers for users to make payments using stablecoins like USDT on the Rumble platform. Secondly, the advancement of legislation is prompting tech giants, including Meta, to re-evaluate stablecoin applications. Reports indicate that Meta is discussing the use of stablecoins for small payments to creators on its platforms, with some crypto companies suggesting that Meta simplify the compensation for content creators on Instagram using stablecoins. Meta even does not rule out collaborating with existing stablecoin issuers (such as Circle) or restarting its private digital currency project through acquisitions or stakeholding. However, due to the setbacks of Facebook’s former Libra project under strong regulatory opposition, Meta’s exploration of stablecoins still faces significant political resistance—multiple U.S. senators have sent letters of inquiry, warning of the potential monopolistic and financial risks posed by large tech companies issuing currencies. In contrast, the combination of Tether and Rumble forms an “unnoticed wild army”: it has completed the closed-loop construction of “content platform + stablecoin payment” ahead of the regulatory curtain rising. By the time the stablecoin bill is enacted and mainstream companies enter the market, Rumble will have already gained a first-mover advantage and mature experience with the support of Tether.

More importantly, this wallet collaboration aligns with the new trend of integrating decentralized payments with the creator economy. Once the Rumble wallet is launched, users will be able to use their digital wallets directly in the browser or on mobile devices to like and tip content, purchase paid content, or engage in creator crowdfunding. This model not only avoids the high 30% “cut” from Apple and Google’s in-app payment systems but also bypasses bank payment networks, achieving low-cost, intermediary-free value transfer on a global scale. Notably, Rumble also plans to integrate the Bitcoin Lightning Network to accelerate micropayments, making real-time rewards or paid viewing for video content feasible, thus greatly enriching the scenarios for content monetization. It is easy to envision that a new ecosystem of decentralized payments + free content creation is emerging: creators possess content sovereignty, users have payment autonomy, and stablecoins serve as a bridge connecting the two. In this ecosystem, Tether’s USDT will play a key currency role. Given that conservative figures like former U.S. President Donald Trump have publicly called for the swift passage of stablecoin regulations to ensure America’s dominance in the digital asset space, it is foreseeable that stablecoins will gain broader political support. The early strategic positioning of Rumble and Tether is likely to seize the high ground in this new ecosystem.

Comparison of Circle/Meta: Building a Payment + Content Closed Loop in Advance

Tether’s partnership with Rumble inevitably recalls its competitor Circle’s potential collaboration with large technology platforms. Circle is the issuer of the USDC stablecoin and has actively embraced regulation and mainstream finance in recent years: it successfully went public through SPAC in 2023 and saw its market value rise in 2024, becoming the first publicly traded stablecoin issuer. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire has repeatedly expressed optimism about collaborating with various enterprises to bring stablecoins into broader application scenarios. With the trend of warming regulation in the United States, Circle is seen as the preferred ‘legitimate’ stablecoin partner for traditional finance and tech giants. Particularly, after Meta (the parent company of Facebook) faced setbacks with the Libra project for several years, there are reports that it intends to revisit stablecoins in 2025 — reportedly, Meta is in discussions with crypto companies including Circle to explore deploying stablecoins for payments and rewarding creators on social platforms. There are reports that Meta has hired a senior fintech executive to lead its stablecoin project, and it is not ruled out that it may re-enter the space by collaborating with or investing in existing stablecoin issuers. Thus, one possible scenario is that Meta chooses to partner with Circle to integrate USDC into platforms like Instagram or WhatsApp for small transfers, creator tips, and even e-commerce settlements.

However, compared to the closed loop that Tether+Rumble has already practically implemented, Circle/Meta is still in the conceptual stage regarding the integration of payments and content, and is facing more constraints. Firstly, every step of financial innovation by large tech companies like Meta triggers intense regulatory scrutiny. As Senator Warren and Blumenthal expressed in their letter questioning Meta’s involvement with stablecoins, stating that “big tech issuing private currency will threaten competition and erode financial privacy.” This political resistance dictates that Meta’s advancement will be very cautious in both speed and scale, and it may even be forced to be shelved. In contrast, Rumble is a relatively “small and specialized” platform, and its user base and positioning already carry a decentralized color, thus facing almost no regulatory and public opinion obstacles in its integration with Tether. Secondly, the positioning of cooperative partners is different: the user base of Meta/Instagram tends to lean towards mainstream audiences and liberal mainstream audiences within the creator ecosystem, and the platform itself has strict content review and profit strategies, maintaining close relationships with government and advertisers; Circle caters to this highly compliant and reputation-conscious demand, hence the development of USDC is more focused on connections with banks, Visa networks, and mainstream e-commerce. In contrast, Rumble’s user ecosystem is primarily composed of conservatives and advocates of free speech, who have a higher acceptance of decentralized and alternative solutions. Tether, as a stablecoin giant that “takes the unconventional route,” resonates well with non-mainstream platforms like Rumble, thereby establishing differentiated advantages within their respective camps.

It is worth noting that the Tether+Rumble combination has taken the lead in completing the “social content platform + stablecoin payment” closed loop, occupying a strategic high ground. In this closed loop, content consumption and currency circulation are integrated: users can watch Rumble’s video content while instantly tipping or purchasing services with USDT; creators can directly receive income through stablecoins, thus embedding Tether’s USDT into daily social behaviors. In contrast, for Circle/Meta to build a similar closed loop, they not only need to overcome the high barriers of corporate cooperation (complex adjustments among large institutions and profit distribution), but also wait for regulatory approval or even legislative changes. Industry commentators point out that once the GENIUS Act is implemented, every large financial institution and payment platform may issue stablecoins - by then, market competition will be exceptionally fierce. Tether’s early occupation of the niche market (content payment for free speech communities) through Rumble will give it a competitive edge in the future.

Additionally, from the perspective of ideological differences in the social media ecosystem, the alliance between Tether and Rumble highlights a position distinct from Circle/Meta. Rumble prides itself on being a “censorship alternative” to mainstream platforms, with users predominantly being right-wing or libertarian, harboring skepticism or even hostility towards “Big Tech” and mainstream media. Tether itself has faced significant controversy regarding transparency and regulation in the past, having remained outside the U.S. regulatory framework, and its founding team does not have close ties to Wall Street or Silicon Valley. This makes Tether more readily accepted by this group, creating a resonance between the two in their anti-mainstream narrative. In contrast, Circle and Meta clearly belong to the establishment camp: Circle emphasizes compliance and transparency, proactively embracing Wall Street and regulatory agencies; Meta, as a social empire, has been at the center of past censorship controversies, being accused by the right of suppressing conservative voices. Even if Meta successfully integrates USDC, its payment + content system will serve a more mainstream and moderate creator community, which is distinctly different from the audience that Rumble/Tether cultivates. It can be said that Tether, by teaming up with Rumble, has firmly bound itself to the conservative social ecosystem, securing a position to provide payment services within that ecosystem; while Circle/Meta may position themselves as the stablecoin infrastructure for liberal or mainstream social ecosystems. The two are flourishing in different “parallel universes of public opinion,” each playing its role in the digital currency landscape. This misalignment of competition allows Tether to avoid direct confrontation with Circle over the same user base, instead building barriers in another camp and prioritizing the completion of its product closed loop.

In summary, in the competition of integrating stablecoin and social content, Tether, in partnership with Rumble, has clearly gained an advantage in terms of time and scenario. In the future, if Circle or other tech giants attempt to replicate this model, they will inevitably face the user loyalty and first-mover advantage that Tether/Rumble has already established. In the mainstream compliance field, Circle may have more advantages; however, in the current landscape where the political spectrum in the United States is increasingly fragmented, the conservative content ecosystem that Tether is betting on is precisely a rich mine that mainstream competitors underestimate yet has considerable traffic. This reflects the sophistication of Tether’s strategy: instead of competing head-on with giants for mainstream market share, it finds an alternative path, positioning itself in the fast-growing but marginal ecosystem, thus forming a unique competitive barrier.

The political attributes of Rumble and its traffic moat

As the content platform party in this cooperation, Rumble’s political attributes and unique moat are worth深入剖析. The rise of the Rumble platform itself carries a strong right-wing libertarian color: it began to gain fame around 2020 for harboring right-wing and conspiracy theory content that was banned by mainstream platforms. At that time, a large number of creators who were banned by YouTube and others for spreading false information about COVID-19, questioning the results of the 2020 US elections, or promoting conspiracy theories like QAnon flocked to Rumble, making it a safe haven for right-wing internet users. Rumble also consciously embraces the image of the “canceled” by signing or sponsoring some controversial influencers to attract traffic. For example, Rumble actively promoted and sponsored conspiracy theorist Russell Brand, who has faced multiple sexual harassment allegations, as well as internet celebrity Andrew Tate, who was arrested for alleged human trafficking, and broadcaster Stew Peters, who spreads anti-Semitic conspiracies. These figures are either banned or monetization is restricted on mainstream social media, but they have a large following on Rumble (statistics show that Tate had a peak audience of 433,000 during a live broadcast on Rumble). By accepting such individuals, Rumble has consolidated its differentiated content library, gained exclusive traffic sources that mainstream platforms cannot provide, and established a solid user reputation in right-wing/libertarian circles.

The shareholder background of Rumble also reflects its political attributes: its main investors and allies primarily come from conservative circles. Silicon Valley investment tycoon Peter Thiel invested early in Rumble. More notably, current Republican Senator J.D. Vance is also one of the financial backers of Rumble. Before becoming a senator, Vance operated a venture capital fund named Narya Capital, which has been disclosed to be one of Rumble’s top ten investors. Narya spent $7 million to acquire 7 million shares of Rumble in 2022, thus obtaining a board seat. Vance himself has also listed holdings of Rumble stock valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars in his financial disclosures. Clearly, Rumble has gained funding and connections from the new generation of right-wing political forces in the United States. This shareholder background not only brings funding but also implies potential political protection: when the platform faces regulatory scrutiny or public relations pressure, the influence and authority of powerful individuals can back it up. It can be said that Rumble is supported by a group of “value allies” who are ideologically and interest-wise tied to it.

The most crucial alliance relationship is the close cooperation between Rumble and Trump’s camp. Since its establishment, Trump’s social media platform Truth Social has formed a deep partnership with Rumble: in 2022, Truth Social announced that it would use Rumble’s video hosting and streaming technology as its underlying support; at the same time, Rumble invited Truth Social to be one of the first publishers on its new advertising platform to help Truth Social achieve advertising revenue. This two-way cooperation has effectively made Rumble a part of Trump’s media empire infrastructure: video content on Truth Social is provided through Rumble Cloud, and advertising monetization relies on the Rumble Ads network. Moreover, Trump himself often chooses the Rumble platform for live video broadcasts at campaign rallies and public speeches, which brings stable and highly engaging traffic to Rumble. For instance, Trump’s important speeches often attract hundreds of thousands of live viewers on Rumble, and through secondary dissemination by conservative media, Rumble’s recognition among right-wing audiences has further increased. After Trump runs for re-election and wins the 2024 presidential election (assuming the background of the problem), his preference for Rumble, this “insider” platform, will undoubtedly be even stronger. This means that Rumble will possess exclusive content channels from the most influential political figures in the U.S. for the next few years, and its traffic and user engagement are expected to reach new heights.

When it comes to the value alliance, it is impossible not to mention Elon Musk, who shares a sense of mutual understanding with Rumble. Although Musk did not directly invest in Rumble, his advocacy for “absolute freedom of speech” following his acquisition of Twitter (now renamed X) in 2022 resonates with Rumble’s philosophy. Musk has repeatedly criticized the censorship policies of mainstream media and social platforms, emphasizing that user speech should be as unrestricted as possible. This stance has created an ideological alliance between him and platforms like Rumble. For instance, when YouTube restricted monetization on certain content due to its so-called “advertiser-friendly policies,” Musk suggested on X that creators consider other platforms, to which Rumble’s CEO immediately responded positively; Musk has also liked Rumble’s statements defending freedom of speech and voiced support on social media (hypothetically in some interactive scenarios). Additionally, while Musk’s X platform is distinct from Rumble in the social media arena, there is potential for collaboration between the two. For example, some have suggested that X and Rumble could integrate video sharing or jointly combat large advertisers’ boycotts. On a broader level, Musk, Trump, Vance, and others collectively form a network of alliances within the contemporary American conservative/libertarian digital ecosystem: they support each other’s platforms and values, opposing the dominance of traditional elite media and big tech companies. Rumble serves as a stronghold for this alliance in the realm of video content. This value alliance grants Rumble a soft moat—users have a nearly emotional and ideological identification with the platform, rather than merely a functional dependency.

Overall, Rumble’s moat is reflected in the following aspects:

• Unique content supply: Rumble has gathered a large amount of content that mainstream platforms do not have or even do not allow. From conservative political talk shows, conspiracy theory programs to exclusive live broadcasts of controversial celebrities, it has formed a differentiated content library. This content has a loyal audience who have no choice but to watch on Rumble, thereby locking in this portion of traffic.
• High-adhesion user community: Rumble users often have strong ideological demands, and they view the use of the platform as a statement of value. Therefore, user loyalty is much higher than that of general entertainment products. Some far-right audiences even regard Rumble as a “digital refuge,” spending a significant amount of time consuming content daily. Data shows that in 2023, Rumble’s global users watched content for a total of 47.6 billion minutes monthly. Although the average monthly active users are only around 20 million, the per-user usage time is very high. This indicates that the platform has a strong stickiness; once users integrate into the Rumble ecosystem, they are not easily attracted away by other platforms.
• Self-controlled technological infrastructure: Rumble recognizes that establishing its own cloud services is crucial to resisting the suppression of big tech. To this end, Rumble has developed Rumble Cloud, providing autonomous video hosting, live streaming, and distribution capabilities, reducing reliance on giants like Amazon AWS. The “Truth Social” incident in 2022 proved this point: conservative social media platforms like Parler faced removal due to hosting on AWS, while Truth Social operated smoothly and unaffected relying on Rumble Cloud. Recently, Rumble also announced a collaboration with Tron DAO to explore enhancing the censorship resistance of its cloud infrastructure using decentralized blockchain technology. The Tron network is known for its high performance and low costs, and it handles over 63% of the global USDT transfer volume, making it an important network for stablecoin applications. By partnering with Tron, Rumble aims to achieve a decentralized backend architecture, reduce dependency on traditional clouds, and improve resistance to content censorship. This technological independence forms Rumble’s “hard moat,” making it difficult to cut off its lifeline.
• Political and Capital Allies: As mentioned earlier, Rumble has capital and political support from the conservative camp (Thiel, Vance, Trump, etc.). This not only brings user endorsement but may also provide shelter in regulatory games. For example, when lawmakers question the bias of mainstream social media, Rumble is often used as a positive case, gaining exposure. This political backing is a special advantage that general commercial platforms find difficult to possess.

These moats have established a strong fortress for Rumble within the right-wing/libertarian content community, making it difficult for new competitors to shake its position. For Tether, this means a user entry point with high stickiness and loyalty. Due to Rumble users’ skepticism or even hostility towards traditional finance and large platforms, they are more likely to accept and even champion decentralized cryptocurrency tools. Pavlovski plainly stated that the crypto community is ideologically aligned with the free speech community, both sharing a passion for freedom and transparency. Many Rumble users may themselves be holders of Bitcoin or USDT, and are at least familiar with dollar stablecoins. Therefore, integrating USDT into Rumble’s content and payment systems can naturally gain user acceptance and adoption. Once this loyal user base converts into frequent users of USDT, it will greatly benefit Tether in consolidating its market position—they are not only traffic but may also become “Tether ecosystem allies,” helping to promote the application of stablecoins. In this sense, Rumble can be regarded as a “traffic enclave” for Tether’s stablecoin strategy: nurturing a strong and loyal user base outside of mainstream view, providing Tether with a market fortress that is difficult for other stablecoin issuers to reach.

The “wallet economy” promises to be Rumble’s third growth curve. As mentioned earlier, Rumble’s non-custodial wallet with Tether is scheduled to go live in the second half of 2025. Once operational, Rumble can potentially reap benefits in a number of ways: First, wallet usage will generate transaction fees (although on-chain transaction fees are low, the accumulation of high-frequency small tips is also considerable), and Rumble may be able to share in the profits. Secondly, the wallet will attract more cryptocurrency users to sign up for Rumble, raising the ceiling for user growth on the platform. Especially in USDT-endemic regions such as Latin America and Africa, the combination of Rumble+ wallets is expected to attract incremental users who are both eager for free content and accustomed to trading in stablecoins. Third, the wallet function itself can also become a selling point for new products, such as providing creators with value-added services such as “one-click withdrawal of USDT”, fan tip rankings, NFT content sales, etc., which may generate revenue for the platform in the form of commissions or service fees. At a more macro level, the Rumble wallet is entering a market that is not yet saturated - decentralized financial services for creators to monetize. If in the past, creators’ income depended on platform sharing and advertiser sponsorship, then in the future, the platform will gradually get rid of its excessive dependence on advertising and form a healthier and diversified revenue structure by directly obtaining income from users through stablecoins. Once this model works, Rumble can even export solutions (such as licensing other content platforms to use its wallet technology) to open up new revenue streams for ToB services.

In terms of the creator ecosystem, Rumble’s investments in recent years have begun to show results. Currently, the platform has both well-known streamers who have left YouTube and locally cultivated new stars. According to statistics, the number of videos uploaded to Rumble in 2023 reached 54,410, an increase of about 59% compared to 2022. This reflects a growing participation of creators on the platform. Rumble has also frequently signed exclusive collaborations with top creators, such as a large content contract with conservative commentator Steven Crowder (reportedly worth hundreds of millions over several years), attracting him to stream exclusively on Rumble. This strategy of poaching high-profile talent has increased expenses in the short term but has successfully brought a large number of fans migrating, significantly contributing to user growth on the platform. In the long run, as Rumble integrates stablecoin payments, the platform’s attractiveness to creators will reach new heights—because no mainstream platform can offer such a diverse and free monetization approach: ad revenue sharing, paid subscriptions, along with globally accepted cryptocurrency tips. Therefore, it is expected that more small and medium-sized creators will choose to cultivate niche audiences on Rumble, forming a virtuous cycle of content production.

Finally, from the perspective of “platform traffic decentralization”, the rise of Rumble and the participation of Tether are emblematic. For years, giants like YouTube and Facebook have almost monopolized online content traffic and monetization channels, which has led to issues of censorship and monopoly, forcing creators and users to comply with platform rules. The Rumble+Tether model offers a viable alternative paradigm: content platforms building their own infrastructure + integrating crypto payments, achieving a dual decentralization of content and capital flows. Users can access information, express opinions, and use currency that does not go through the Wall Street banking system for value exchange in an environment not controlled by Silicon Valley. This difference in top-level architecture makes internet traffic distribution more polarized, no longer concentrated solely on a few company servers. For example, the decentralized cloud service created by Rumble in collaboration with Tron may allow emerging websites in the future to rent Rumble’s censorship-resistant infrastructure, thereby dispersing traffic away from Amazon/Google Cloud. Similarly, stablecoin wallets enable users to complete payments without going through Visa/Mastercard networks, weakening the traditional financial monopoly on small payment traffic. It can be said that the collaboration between Rumble and Tether is a bold experiment in the wave of decentralized integration of social media and crypto finance. If successful, it will prove that decentralized technology and the ideals of freedom are not a utopia in business, but can give rise to new mainstream platforms that can compete equally with existing giants.

Not investment/trading/speculation advice, for learning and communication purposes.

Statement:

1. This article is reprinted from [ChainTrust0103] The copyright belongs to the original author [ChainTrust0103] If you have any objections to the reprint, please contact Gate Learn TeamThe team will process it as quickly as possible according to the relevant procedures.
2. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author’s personal opinion and do not constitute any investment advice.
3. The other language versions of the article are translated by the Gate Learn team, unless otherwise mentioned.GateUnder such circumstances, it is prohibited to copy, disseminate, or plagiarize translated articles.