Core Insights - Tether has made an $8 million strategic investment in Speed, a payments infrastructure company that integrates Bitcoin's Lightning Network with stablecoin settlement for real-time money transfers [1][2] - Speed processes over $1.5 billion in annual payment volume and serves approximately 1.2 million users and businesses through its wallet and merchant products [1] - The investment aims to enhance Bitcoin-aligned financial infrastructure and broaden the use of USDT beyond trading [2] Group 1 - Speed's system utilizes the Lightning Network for fast payments while allowing settlement in USDT for users seeking predictable values [2] - Tether's CEO emphasized that Speed demonstrates the capability of Lightning networks to support real commerce when combined with a stable digital dollar [2] - Speed's CEO highlighted the transition of crypto from speculation to practical use, emphasizing the combination of speed from Lightning and universal access from stablecoins [3] Group 2 - Tether has been actively investing its substantial profits across various sectors, including a majority stake in Latin American agricultural firm Adecoagro, a privacy-focused health app, and a stake in video-sharing platform Rumble [3] - The company reported over $10 billion in profit during the first nine months of the year, primarily driven by interest on U.S. Treasury holdings backing USDT [4]