Tether has expanded its US-focused stablecoin USAT to the Celo blockchain, making Celo the token’s second mainnet after Ethereum and further anchoring the network’s role in digital dollar-style payments.
The launch, confirmed by Tether on Wednesday, follows plans first outlined by the two companies in March. It means USAT is now natively issued on both Ethereum and Celo, with Celo positioned as a key settlement layer for US payments and everyday transactions rather than just crypto trading.
USAT users on Celo will have access to native mint-and-burn functionality, allowing tokens to be created and redeemed directly on the network. That set-up removes the need to rely on third-party bridges, which can introduce extra technical vulnerabilities and custody risks when moving assets between chains.
Thanks to Celo’s earlier CIP-64 upgrade, USAT can also be used to pay transaction fees on the network. Under that system, approved ERC-20 tokens can act as gas currencies, eliminating the requirement for users to hold a separate native token solely for paying network costs.
“Expanding USA₮ to Celo was a deliberate decision,” said Tether US chief executive Bo Hines, underlining the strategic nature of the move.
Celo emerges as key hub for Tether stablecoins
Celo has quickly become Tether’s largest distribution network for its flagship stablecoin USDT when measured by weekly active users since USDT launched on the blockchain in 2024, according to Tether’s announcement.
The network is responsible for 28% of all cross-chain USDT transfers, highlighting its role as a major corridor for moving Tether’s dollar-linked tokens across different blockchains. Celo also dominates activity in XAUt0, the omnichain version of Tether Gold, hosting more than 90% of that market.
Tether’s transparency dashboard shows around $470m in authorised USDT on Celo, placing the network eighth among blockchains that support the stablecoin by that metric. Authorised supply includes tokens that have been created and are available for issuance, but it does not necessarily reflect the amount actively circulating in the market.
Separate market data estimates the total circulating stablecoin supply on Celo at roughly $136m. Of that, about $78.8m is USDT, giving Tether a 57.6% share of the network’s stablecoin market.
Wallet push and US payments strategy
The Celo ecosystem has also been bolstered by Opera’s launch of a self-custodial stablecoin wallet on the network in partnership with Tether. That product has reportedly reached more than 18 million users worldwide, broadening access to both USDT and USAT for retail and mobile-focused users.
USAT itself went live in January and has grown to a market capitalisation of around $185m. While that remains tiny compared with USDT’s supply of about $180bn, Tether positions the two tokens as serving different audiences, with USAT aimed squarely at regulated US payments.
The stablecoin has been structured around the requirements of the US GENIUS Act. Its reserves are held entirely in cash or highly liquid cash equivalents, including US Treasury securities, in order to support one-to-one redemptions against the US dollar.
USAT is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally chartered crypto bank overseen by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Hines took up his role at Tether US after serving as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisers on Digital Assets between January and August 2025, underlining the company’s push to align the product with US regulatory expectations.
That framework places USAT at the centre of Tether’s attempt to move beyond its traditional base in crypto trading venues and into mainstream US payment flows, including salaries and corporate transactions.
Payroll ambition and Celo’s technical role
As reported by crypto.news in mid-July, Tether led Pact Labs’ $7m Series A funding round, joined by Blockchange Ventures and Lasagna. The investment is designed to embed USAT directly into payroll and payment systems used by US employers.
Pact Labs intends to let companies route wages through blockchain payment rails, while integrating embedded digital wallets and related financial services into their platforms. Tether is targeting a US payroll market that processes more than $11tn in payments each year, positioning USAT as an alternative settlement asset within that infrastructure.
Celo’s low transaction fees, mobile-first design and existing base of stablecoin activity are expected to make it a natural fit as another settlement network for those applications. The blockchain originally launched as a Layer 1 in 2020 before transitioning in March 2025 to an Ethereum Layer 2 built on the OP Stack, aligning it more closely with the broader Ethereum ecosystem while retaining its focus on accessible, low-cost payments.
