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Tether has expanded USAT to Celo, giving its US-compliant stablecoin a second blockchain after its Ethereum debut in January 2026. The move advances Tether’s separate infrastructure strategy for American and global markets. USAT remains far smaller than USDT, with a market value of about $185 million against roughly $180 billion. Still, Tether designed USAT for the changing US regulatory framework.
Celo focuses on stablecoin payments, making the network a direct distribution channel for USAT. The deployment also extends the token beyond its original Ethereum base. Data from Celo and The Block showed that Celo handled about 28% of all cross-chain USDT transfers as of July 29, 2026. This activity gives USAT access to an established stablecoin network.
Celo also lets users pay transaction fees directly with USAT through a native network feature. Therefore, users do not need a separate token to cover gas costs.
USDT remains Tether’s dominant global product and the world’s largest stablecoin by market value. Its scale gives Tether broad reach across international cryptocurrency markets. However, USDT does not fully align with the new American regulatory framework described in Tether’s US strategy. Its reserve structure prevents it from operating as a fully licensed US stablecoin.
USAT follows a different model because Tether built it specifically for the American market. Can Tether preserve USDT’s global dominance while establishing USAT as its regulated US product?
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Anchorage Digital Bank issues USAT instead of Tether. The federally chartered crypto bank operates under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Cantor Fitzgerald holds the token’s reserves, connecting the project with a long-established Wall Street institution. Bo Hines, a former White House Crypto Council director, leads the operation.
Meanwhile, implementation rules for the GENIUS Act remain unsettled. Even so, Tether has started building USAT before the final US compliance framework takes full effect. Fidelity and other institutions have also entered the stablecoin market as regulation gains importance. Licenses, reserve controls, and supervised issuance now shape access to the US market.
Tether’s Celo deployment expands USAT beyond Ethereum and supports its separate US strategy. Anchorage Digital Bank handles issuance, while Cantor Fitzgerald holds reserves. The arrangement gives Tether a regulated American product under federal oversight while USDT continues serving global markets.
