Stablecoin giant Tether led an $8 million strategic investment in Speed, a payments infrastructure company that blends Bitcoin’s Lightning Network with stablecoin settlement to move money in real time.

Speed processes more than $1.5 billion in annual payment volume and serves about 1.2 million users and businesses through its wallet and merchant products, Tether said in a press release.

Speed’s system routes payments over Lightning for its quickness, while allowing settlement in USDT for users who want predictable values.

Tether said the investment supports its effort to strengthen Bitcoin-aligned financial infrastructure and expand how USDT is used outside of trading. CEO Paolo Ardoino described Speed as evidence that Lightning networks can handle real commerce when paired with a stable digital dollar.

“Crypto has lived in the world of speculation for too long," Speed CEO Niraj Patel said. "Speed is making it usable — instantly, globally, and at scale. Lightning gives us speed; stablecoins give us universal access; our infrastructure brings it all together for consumers, creators, and merchants."

The deal comes as Tether continues to use its large profits to aggressively invest across a variety of industries. Among these are a majority stake in Latin American agricultural firm Adecoagro (AGRO), a privacy-focused health app, a stake in video-sharing platform Rumble (RUM).

The company reported more than $10 billion in profit during the first nine months of the year, driven largely by interest on U.S. Treasury holdings that back USDT.