Tether, the crypto behemoth behind the $137 billion stablecoin USDT, is setting up group headquarters in the bitcoin-friendly nation-state of El Salvador, the company said Monday.

The firm said the development came after acquiring all the necessary license as a stablecoin issuer in the country.

The move will see Tether move incorporated subsidiaries to El Salvador and create its first brick-and-mortar headquarters, a company spokesman said. Previously, most of the group’s entities have been incorporated and licensed in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), a source familiar with the company’s operations told CoinDesk. The move does not affect the company’s existing presence in the Swiss crypto hub of Lugano, the source added.

Two Tether-related companies – Tether NA El Salvador, SA de CV and Tether International El Salvador, SA de CV – obtained regulatory approval last August for most crypto-related activities in the country, according to the public registry of the National Commission of Digital Assets in El Salvador (CNAD), the government’s crypto regulatory body.

“This decision is a natural progression for Tether as it allows us to build a new home, foster collaboration and strengthen our focus on new markets,” CEO Paolo Ardoino said in a statement. “El Salvador represents a beacon of innovation in the digital asset space.”

The move is a massive development for El Salvador’s ambitions as a crypto hub. Tether is one of the largest digital asset companies and reported $7.7 billion in net crypto profits in the first three quarters of 2024. That’s about 20% of the country’s annual GDP, per IMF data.

The move could also bring significant benefits to Tether, which also benefits from the country’s tax incentives aimed at attracting tech and crypto companies. The “potential move takes advantage of El Salvador’s new ICT innovation law, which provides 15-year tax exemptions for tech companies on income, property and capital gains,” noted Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset analysis at investment firm VanEck.

Read more: An interview with El Salvador’s top crypto regulator: ‘Developing countries can lead the financial revolution’

Tethers USDT is the largest stablecoin and the popular means of payment and transfer for users in emerging countries.

El Salvador, a tiny country in Central America with over 6 million inhabitants, has become a budding crypto hub under President Nayib Bukele. The country introduced bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in 2021 and created extensive regulations for digital assets that are attracting a number of crypto firms to settle. It is also a significant bitcoin holder, currently holding over 6,000 BTC worth around $550 million, per Arkham data.

In other El Salvador news, Rumble ( RUM ), the video sharing platform Tether took a stake in for $775 million, entered into a cloud services deal with the Salvadoran government last week.