# Tether vs S&P: Paolo Ardoino's battle against the 'broken financial system'

Paolo Ardoino didn't mince words. The CEO of Tether responded to the downgrade by S&P Global with an uncomfortable truth: **traditional rating agencies have been failing for decades**.

Remember how those same institutions approved companies that later spectacularly failed, while maintaining their "investment grade" status. Global regulators are already questioning the independence and objectivity of these agencies. What's Ardoino's point? When a company (read: Tether) tries to escape the gravity of the traditional financial system, Wall Street's PR machinery goes into a panic.

**What Tether boasts:**
- Excessive capital (without risky leverage)
- Zero toxic reserve assets
- Sustained profitability in a volatile ecosystem

S&P argues that USDT has exposure risks to Bitcoin. Ardoino counters: that’s exactly what makes Tether more resilient, not less.

**The background:** This is not just a ratings battle. It is a clash of narratives between traditional finance and cryptocurrencies over who defines stability in 2024.