Tether CEO Fires Back with Password Manager Launch Following 16 Billion Record Data Breach

Tether's CEO drops a cybersecurity lifeline—just as the crypto world reels from history's biggest data leak.

| The 16 billion elephant in the room |

After hackers made off with enough credentials to bankrupt a small nation (or buy lunch in Zurich), the stablecoin kingpin unveiled a proprietary password vault. Because nothing says 'trust us' like safeguarding keys after the stablecoin barn's already been raided.

| Security theater or genuine shield? |

The move comes as exchanges scramble to patch systems—while quietly praying their insurance covers 'act of god' breaches. One exec muttered: 'At least it's not another NFT project.'

| The cynical take |

Because when life gives you lemons, monetize the lemonade stand. Especially if you can peg it 1:1 to the dollar.

TLDR

• A data breach exposed 16 billion login credentials from major platforms including Apple, Google, Facebook, GitHub, and Telegram
• Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced plans to launch PearPass, a server-free, open-source password manager in response to the breach
• The leaked data includes recent credentials with tokens, cookies, and metadata from infostealer malware
• Crypto holders face increased risks of account takeovers and social engineering attacks due to the exposed data
• Security experts recommend immediately updating passwords, enabling two-factor authentication, and avoiding cloud storage for recovery phrases

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced plans to develop a new password manager following the discovery of what researchers call the largest confirmed data breach in history. The breach exposed 16 billion login credentials from major online platforms.

The cloud has failed us. Again.
16 billion passwords just leaked.
It’s time to ditch the cloud.

That’s why we’ve been building PearPass — coming soon.

A fully local, open-source password manager. No cloud. No servers. No leaks. Ever.

Just you — and your keys, stored securely… https://t.co/FkL1wrdpCo pic.twitter.com/wynlieJ2E4

— Paolo Ardoino 🤖 (@paoloardoino) June 19, 2025

The massive data leak affects virtually every major online service including Apple, Facebook, Google, GitHub, Telegram, and government platforms. Cybernews researchers discovered the breach after reviewing 30 exposed datasets containing between tens of millions to over 3.5 billion records each.

The exposed data comes from infostealer malware that collected login credentials directly from infected computers. Unlike previous breaches of old data, these credentials are recent and include active tokens, cookies, and metadata that make them particularly dangerous.

Researchers found that most databases contained an average of 550 million entries. The smallest dataset held over 16 million records while the largest contained 3.5 billion credentials.

The data was exposed through unsecured Elasticsearch or object-storage instances. While the original owner remains unknown, researchers believe cybercriminals controlled at least some of the leaked datasets.

New Password Manager Response

Ardoino responded to the breach by announcing PearPass, a serverless password manager that stores all data locally on users’ devices. “The cloud has failed us. Again,” Ardoino wrote on social media platform X.

PearPass aims to eliminate centralized storage vulnerabilities by keeping credentials entirely on user devices. The open-source design removes any external servers that could be compromised or monitored.

The password manager represents Tether’s move beyond cryptocurrency into cybersecurity tools. Ardoino emphasized that users would control their own data without relying on cloud infrastructure.

Crypto Industry Impact

The breach poses particular risks for cryptocurrency users who rely on email-based account recovery systems. Security analysts expect increased account takeover attempts targeting custodial wallets and crypto platforms.

Some cryptocurrency wallets use password-based seed phrase backups stored in cloud services. Attackers could potentially access these backups using the leaked credentials to steal private keys.

The breach highlights ongoing problems with password reuse and weak authentication practices across the crypto industry. Many users employ the same credentials across multiple platforms including their crypto accounts.

Social engineering attacks are expected to increase as criminals use the leaked data to create convincing phishing attempts. The detailed metadata included in the breach makes these attacks more effective.

Exchanges may require users to change passwords or implement additional security measures to prevent asset theft. The scope of potential crypto-related damage depends on how successfully attackers exploit the leaked information.

The datasets were exposed only briefly before researchers discovered them. However, new massive datasets continue to surface every few weeks according to security experts.

Tether has not announced a specific launch timeline for PearPass.