USDT stablecoin issuer Tether has quietly become the second-largest shareholder of Juventus Football Club, marking a historic first for European football—where a major crypto company now holds a significant equity stake in a top-tier team.
Tether formally disclosed its investment in February, confirming it had acquired a 10.7% stake in the Turin-based club. That stake is currently valued at approximately €128 million ($149 million), according to Bloomberg data. Juventus remains under the control of Exor NV, the Agnelli family’s holding company, which owns about 65.4% of the club.
This move positions Tether as a major force in European sports business and represents the crypto firm’s first high-profile venture into professional football. Juventus, Italy’s most decorated club, has also qualified for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
Despite its sizable stake, Tether’s involvement with Juventus has been met with resistance. CEO Paolo Ardoino told Bloomberg that communication with Exor and Juventus leadership has been “very, very limited.” Tether has reportedly made several attempts to schedule a formal meeting, but the club has delayed any engagement until after the 2024–2025 season concludes in July.
“I had to buy my own match ticket to attend a Juventus game,” Ardoino said, highlighting his frustrations over the lack of acknowledgement from club officials.
A spokesperson for Tether emphasized the firm’s long-term commitment to Juventus, saying, “We believe having a voice in decisions is part of fulfilling that responsibility.”
As Juventus continues to operate at a financial loss, the club announced plans to raise €100 million to fund summer player acquisitions. Exor has already pledged €15 million upfront to support the plan and committed to maintaining its majority stake.
Juventus, which has not won Italy’s Serie A title in five years, posted an estimated €18 million deficit in its most recent fiscal year, based on Bloomberg projections. The club has been partially publicly traded since 2001, when it floated 35% of its shares.
While Tether sees itself as a forward-thinking partner, Juventus insiders reportedly remain wary of the company’s “opaque corporate structure”—a critique Tether shares with the club itself, given Juventus’ traditional governance model.
Critics have also raised questions about USDT’s role in illegal finance. A 2023 United Nations report cited the stablecoin’s use in roughly $19.3 billion worth of criminal transactions. U.S. officials have also linked USDT to sanctions evasion and conflict financing.
Tether maintains that it collaborates with global law enforcement and has helped freeze millions in illicit funds. Despite the controversy, the company posted $13 billion in profits in 2024, backed by $115 billion in U.S. Treasury holdings.
Tether has been diversifying its investments beyond crypto, recently acquiring a 30% stake in Italian media company Be Water and backing projects in social media, agriculture, and brain tech. Its stake in Juventus aligns with CEO Ardoino’s vision of blending technology and sport to revive struggling legacy brands.
“The Italian football ecosystem is still very rooted in tradition,” Ardoino noted. “But it’s kind of unfortunate because the rest of the world can see Manchester United, Chelsea, and PSG. They are more open to a new way to look at sports like a brand.”
Whether Tether can bring that new vision to Juventus remains to be seen. But its place on the club’s cap table signals a deeper merging of crypto and traditional sports industries—one that may soon be impossible to ignore.
June 2025, Cryptoniteuae