At Lugano’s Plan ₿ Forum, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company had open-sourced its Bitcoin (BTC) mining framework and linked Bitcoin’s block timing to financial inclusion in remote villages.
At the Oct. 23-24, 2026, forum, Ardoino said partners helped Tether develop its mining operation, which he characterized as among the world’s largest.
He said Bitcoin’s 10-minute block rhythm gives remote villages time to retrieve a block, an argument he tied to financial inclusion.
Ardoino described an “Independence Stack” bringing energy and peer-to-peer communications together with Bitcoin mining, local artificial intelligence and self-custody wallets. He said the infrastructure was meant to keep working if Tether no longer existed.
