Founding stakeholders include Anchorage Digital, Bitfury, Bybit, Chainalysis, Fasanara Capital, Kraken, Opera, Pave Bank, Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps), Solana Foundation, and Tether. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will also serve as a strategic partner. The first programs aim to cover youth cybercrime prevention, support human trafficking survivors, and a stablecoin humanitarian aid pilot

28 October 2026 – Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry today, announced the launch of the Financial Access and Systemic Empowerment (FASE) Foundation. FASE is a Swiss not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder foundation dedicated to financial safety, financial inclusion, and equitable access to essential resources such as connectivity, energy, and healthcare. This marks Tether’s move from intent to practical, measurable action.

FASE launches with a Founding Stakeholders Group of organizations that will help shape and deliver its programs. The group comprises Anchorage Digital, Bitfury, Bybit, Chainalysis, Fasanara Capital, Kraken, Opera, Pave Bank, Prosper Global (formerly Mercy Corps), Solana Foundation, and Tether. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) will provide technical advice to the Foundation.

FASE’s work is organized around four financial and technological pillars designed to strengthen systemic resilience and empower communities:

• Financial Safety: Strengthening the safeguards and tools that protect individuals and communities from financial harm, including digital asset scams and fraud.
• Financial Freedom and Inclusion: Expanding access to financial services for underserved populations.
• Access to Resources: Advancing equitable access to connectivity, clean energy, and last-mile healthcare.
• Responsible AI & Robotics: Supporting ethical, transparent, and human-centered technological innovation.

Building on Tether’s existing work combating human trafficking, supporting African civil society organizations through grants and scaled interventions, and funding organizations that tackle organized crime and cybercrime, including online scams. Its first initiatives include a global youth alliance with Goodwall, a certified B Corp and global youth engagement platform.  The alliance aims to reach up to 10 million young people with digital education and scam-prevention tools, prioritizing high-risk regions such as Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia.

FASE will work with Prosper Global on a scale-up initiative exploring how stablecoins can deliver humanitarian aid more transparently and efficiently. An initial pilot could reach up to 1 million people and serve as a model for future crisis response. 

FASE will leverage Tether’s existing cooperation with the UNODC to scale up cybercrime-prevention activities in Africa, Asia, and Central America. FASE will also support civil society organizations that provide direct assistance and protection to survivors of human trafficking in collaboration with the United Nations Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking.

“For too long, the people who most need protection and support have been the ones most neglected by the traditional financial system. FASE is about reaching them. It builds on work Tether is already doing in these communities and brings in partners from across the industry and the United Nations to take it further and faster. Together, we can give these communities the protection, support and access they have long gone without. That is what we are building with FASE,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.

Ahead of the official launch, the FASE founding stakeholders gathered for an exclusive event in Lugano to mark the foundation’s establishment, align on strategic priorities across its core pillars, and celebrate the collaborative vision behind the initiative. 

Before launching FASE, Tether supported a range of foundations and nonprofit initiatives, aligning its contributions with its mission to advance infrastructure that drives real-world impact. These include sustained funding to the BTCPay Server Foundation: a $100,000 grant in 2024 and a second consecutive $100,000 grant in 2025. Tether also donated $250,000 to OpenSats, a nonprofit that funds developers, researchers, and educators building Bitcoin and censorship-resistant technologies, with all funds directed toward ecosystem growth and innovation.

Through these projects and ongoing collaborations, FASE aims to build a safer, more equitable, and more connected future for all. 

About FASE

The Financial Access and Systemic Empowerment (FASE) Foundation is a Swiss not-for-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established by Tether. It brings together private-sector companies, not-for-profit organizations, academic institutions, and public-sector and multilateral bodies around four pillars: financial safety, financial freedom and inclusion, access to essential resources, and responsible AI and robotics. Through collaborative programs in digital education, scam prevention, and support for underserved communities, FASE promotes responsible digital asset use and inclusive development worldwide. 

Learn more at: www.fasefoundation.com

Certain statements in this press release may be forward-looking in nature. The words “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,” “could,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “seek,” “anticipate,” “project,” and similar expressions, among others, generally identify “forward-looking statements,” which speak only as of the date the statements were made. The matters discussed in these forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. None of Tether nor any other person is responsible for updating or revising any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.