Tether Launches US-Regulated USAT Stablecoin Issued By Anchorage Digital

Tether said Tuesday that its USAT stablecoin is now available for trading and will be issued by Anchorage Digital, providing it with a pathway toward compliance under the GENIUS Act.

In a press release, the El Salvador-based firm said the stablecoin—which debuted on several crypto exchanges, including Kraken and Crypto.com—was specifically designed for U.S. markets, with Anchorage’s status as a federally chartered digital asset bank placing the product under the supervision of the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Under a regulatory framework passed last summer, the OCC was granted new powers, including the ability to enforce strict reserve requirements. Under those rules, stablecoin issuers are required to back their products primarily with cash and U.S. Treasuries.

As the legislation took shape, institutions like JPMorgan questioned how Tether would navigate the GENIUS Act, considering that its flagship product is partially backed by Bitcoin and gold. At the time, the bank suggested that the stablecoin issuer could be forced to adapt its reserves, or risk missing out on Wall Street’s anticipated embrace of dollar-pegged tokens.

On Tuesday, Tether said its $168 billion stablecoin is “progressing towards GENIUS Act compliance,” but that USAT will meet institutions’ needs in the meantime. It has designated Cantor Fitzgerald as USAT’s reserve custodian and preferred primary dealer.

Decrypt has reached out to Tether for comment.

When the crypto industry was on the back foot in 2023, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick emerged as one of Tether’s biggest supporters in professional finance. As CEO of Cantor at the time, he said the investment bank held massive amounts of U.S. Treasuries for Tether.

When Tether unveiled the stablecoin in September, it appointed Bo Hines, the former White House crypto council executive director, as CEO of a dedicated U.S. entity.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino told Decrypt in July that his company planned to fully register USDT under the GENIUS Act. Meanwhile, companies like Circle have argued that their approach to compliance positions them as among the main beneficiaries of the legislation.

Tether is hugely popular outside the U.S., but USAT’s debut underscores how the company is trying to strike a balance, while targeting areas where Circle’s USDC is commonly used. Tether’s USDT stablecoin is already widely available in the U.S.

Anchorage was granted conditional approval for a national trust bank charter by the OCC in 2021, long before U.S. President Donald Trump’s second, crypto-friendly term. In October, Anchorage said it would debut a stablecoin on Solana with remittance giant Western Union.

In a separate press release, Anchorage highlighted platform features like on-chain transparency, “deeply integrated risk management,” and bank-grade compliance. In a statement, co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley acknowledged how that’s set to make a difference.

“USAT reflects what’s possible when stablecoin issuance is done inside the U.S. banking system,” he said, “under real supervision, with real accountability, at real scale.”