The donation dispute
Sometimes saying nothing might have been the better option for Tether. The stablecoin company announced a $250,000 donation to OpenSats this week to support Bitcoin developers, only to face immediate public criticism from one of the most prominent figures in the tech and Bitcoin space.
Twitter co-founder and Square CEO Jack Dorsey didn’t hold back when he saw Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino promoting the donation on social media platform X. “Why only $250K?” Dorsey wrote in a brief but pointed reply. The comment came just hours after Tether had announced its contribution to the nonprofit organization that funds free and open-source Bitcoin software development.
The financial context
What makes Dorsey’s question particularly sharp is Tether’s financial position. The company behind USDT is reportedly one of the most profitable in the cryptocurrency industry, having posted a $13 billion profit last year. There are even talks about Tether seeking a $500 billion valuation from potential investors.
When another X user challenged Dorsey about his own contributions to Bitcoin development, the entrepreneur didn’t hesitate to respond. “Over $21 million. You?” he shot back. This wasn’t an empty claim either – OpenSats received exactly that amount from Dorsey’s Start Small initiative back in 2024.
The broader conversation
Dorsey has been one of Bitcoin’s most vocal supporters for years, consistently advocating for decentralized technology and censorship resistance. His substantial financial backing of Bitcoin development reflects his commitment to the ecosystem.
But interestingly, even Dorsey found himself facing criticism in this exchange. Udi Wertheimer, the creator behind the popular Bitcoin Ordinals project Taproots Wizards, initially seemed to side with Dorsey in the dispute with Tether. “No one should go into a pissing match with Jack when it comes to funding open-source Bitcoin development,” Wertheimer noted.
The Ocean controversy
However, Wertheimer then turned his attention to Dorsey’s investments in Ocean, a Bitcoin mining pool that has previously faced criticism for discouraging the processing of non-financial transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. This includes the creation of NFT-like Ordinals, which happens to be Wertheimer’s area of expertise.
“You should subtract from that number whatever the size of your Ocean investment was,” Wertheimer said regarding Dorsey’s philanthropic contributions. “Sadly, that capital is being actively deployed to slow down development.”
The exchange highlights how complex these relationships can be within the Bitcoin community. Even among supporters, there are different visions for what Bitcoin should become and how it should develop. What started as a simple question about donation amounts quickly revealed deeper tensions about development priorities and investment strategies.
Perhaps the most telling aspect of the whole situation is that neither Tether’s CEO nor the company’s representatives responded to requests for comment about Dorsey’s criticism. Sometimes silence speaks volumes, especially when you’re being questioned by someone who has put their money where their mouth is to the tune of $21 million.
