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Good morning. CFOs should be paying attention to stablecoins this year, even if they’re not quite ready to use them yet.
Stablecoins are digital assets designed to maintain a stable value, typically pegged to and backed by the U.S. dollar or equivalent assets. Passage of the GENIUS Act has helped clarify how stablecoins are regulated, pushing them from a “crypto side-topic” into mainstream treasury and finance discussions.
My colleague Jeff John Roberts takes a deep dive into stablecoins in his new Fortune feature article, “Crypto giant Tether has $187 billion in assets, big plans for U.S. expansion—and a CEO who warns the West is heading toward social collapse.” Roberts sat down with Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, a crypto firm that earned around $15 billion in profit in 2025.
Tether has acquired more Treasury bills than large economies like South Korea, along with significant amounts of Bitcoin and gold, according to Roberts. The accumulation of assets has helped Tether use its flagship currency, a dollar-backed stablecoin called USDT, to rewire global financial networks.
As Roberts writes: Tether “dominates the sector, thanks in part to a first-mover advantage that has resulted in USDT becoming the go-to way for millions of people in developing countries to hold dollars. USDT’s market capitalization ($187 billion, as of early January) and daily trading volume exceed those of all its stablecoin competitors combined, according to data firm CoinMarketCap—even though U.S. citizens, with limited exceptions, are not allowed to use Tether’s coin.
“Now, Tether is seeking to disrupt much more than finance. In the past two years, it has made massive investments in satellites, data centers, farming, telecommunications, and media.” You can learn more about Tether by reading the complete article here.
Intuit’s CFO Sandeep Aujla is just one leader who has talked to me about leaning into stablecoins via a partnership with Circle. I’d love to hear from you about how you are using—or cautiously eyeing—them in your businesses.
Sheryl Estrada
sheryl.estrada@fortune.com
Leaderboard
Tahnil Davis was appointed interim CFO of The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD), an independent advertising technology company, effective Jan. 24. The company is conducting a search for a permanent successor. Davis currently serves as the company’s chief accounting officer and has been with The Trade Desk for nearly 11 years. She succeeds Alex Kayyal.
Christopher Papa was appointed EVP and CFO of Americold Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: COLD), a real estate investment trust that specializes in temperature‑controlled warehouses and logistics. Papa will join the company on Feb. 23. He has nearly 40 years of experience across real estate, accounting, tax, investor relations and corporate finance. Papa currently serves as EVP and CFO at CenterPoint Properties. His prior experience includes CFO roles at both Post Properties and Liberty Property Trust.
Big Deal
KPMG has released its “Q4 2025 Pulse of Private Equity” report, which examines the latest data, trends, and outlook for PE dealmaking globally. According to the report, PE investment in the U.S. totaled about $1.1 trillion in 2025. While investment levels were strong, U.S. PE deal volume declined to 8,232 transactions in 2025, down from 9,054 deals in 2024.
“In 2025, we saw the release of essentially two years of pent-up demand,” KPMG’s U.S. Head of Private Equity Don Zambarano said in a statement. “That’s led to clearer rate expectations, narrower valuation gaps, and a return of investor confidence.”
However, he noted, that’s not yet translating to more volume. “Much of the capital being deployed is being accelerated by the large funds, and deals are focusing on high-value, top-of-the-market opportunities,” Zambarano said.
Going forward, pricing dynamics are going to impact the higher end of the market, with higher entry multiples required to get into those deals, he said. “We’re going to see a lot of competition for those deals—and more club deals,” he added.
Going deeper
“Why AI Disclosure Matters at Every Level” is an article in Wharton’s business review by Cornelia C. Walther, a visiting scholar at Wharton and director of global alliance POZE. She argues that hiding AI use can erode trust in the workplace and beyond.
As AI weaves itself into the fabric of professional life, the question of disclosure has changed from a philosophical curiosity into a pressing business imperative, according to Walther.
Overheard
“The night sky is a mystery that’s staring us in the face all the time. It’s a constant reminder of the bigger questions. I think that is how I got into vastness…You’ve got to find patterns in huge amounts of data, or find the right move in huge amounts of possibilities.”
—Demis Hassabis, an AI researcher, neuroscientist, and entrepreneur who serves as co-founder and CEO of Google DeepMind, told Fortune in an interview.