‘The Cloud Has Failed Us’: Paolo Ardoino Blames Centralized Systems for 16B Password Leak, Launches PearPass

• A record-breaking breach has exposed around 16 billion credentials, prompting renewed scrutiny of centralized cloud infrastructure.
• In response, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced PearPass, a fully local, open-source password manager that stores user data only on personal devices.
• The incident underscores a broader trend in privacy and cybersecurity communities moving away from centralized systems.

In the wake of what is being called the largest password leak in history, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has strongly criticized centralized cloud infrastructure.

First reported by researchers at Cybernews, the massive breach has allegedly exposed around 16 billion login credentials.

Paolo Ardoino Blames Centralized Systems

Posting on X on June 19, Ardoino responded to the password leak bluntly: “The cloud has failed us. Again.”

“16 billion passwords just leaked. It’s time to ditch the cloud,” he continued .

Ardoino, who also serves as Chief Technology Officer at the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, used the moment to announce PearPass, a new initiative that he claims eliminates reliance on centralized infrastructure.

According to Ardoino, PearPass will operate entirely without cloud-based storage, using local, device-level key management to remove remote attack surfaces.

“That’s why we’ve been building PearPass — coming soon,” he wrote.

“A fully local, open-source password manager. No cloud. No servers. No leaks. Ever. Just you — and your keys, stored securely on your devices,” he added.

The Largest Known Password Leak

This announcement follows the public disclosure of a massive data breach involving an estimated 16 billion credentials, reportedly compiled from at least 30 separate data leaks.

Each dataset is believed to contain between tens of millions and up to 3.5 billion records.

“This is not just a leak – it’s a blueprint for mass exploitation,” the Cybernews researchers warned.

They emphasized: “These aren’t just old breaches being recycled — this is fresh, weaponizable intelligence at scale.”

Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, told Forbes that the incident serves as a reminder of “just how easy it is for sensitive data to be unintentionally exposed online.”

He added, “The fact that the credentials in question are of high value for widely used services carries with it far-reaching implications.”

Moving Away From Centralized Systems

PearPass, as teased by Ardoino, is designed to be a fully local, open-source password manager.

It will store all user credentials exclusively on users’ devices, with no connection to cloud servers, a model that aligns with broader privacy-focused movements calling for more user control over personal data.

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis , many cyberattacks can be detected and stopped early through on-chain monitoring.

“Using on-chain data provides an invaluable window into blockchain activity,” Chainalysis wrote in a blog post, adding that it helps security teams identify red flags early.

“Whether that’s unusual transaction patterns, interactions with known malicious contracts, or sudden liquidity movements,” they noted, “real-time monitoring and transaction analysis are essential for catching threats in motion.” the post stated.