Ethereum co-founder and Polkadot founder Gavin Wood has criticized USDT and similar stablecoins, describing them as heavily regulated centralized banks. In a recent podcast, Wood expressed concerns that the crypto industry is deviating from its original mission by aligning too closely with traditional financial systems. He argued that this shift towards increased regulatory compliance undermines the decentralized ethos of blockchain technology. Wood highlighted the ongoing tension between adhering to regulatory requirements and maintaining the core principles of self-sovereignty and trust minimization in the crypto space.