Tether’s USAT Stablecoin Launches on Celo, Its First Move Beyond Ethereum

Tether’s newest, most compliant stablecoin just left Ethereum for the first time — and it picked a network most people don’t associate with the US dollar.

USAT, Tether’s GENIUS Act-compliant U.S. stablecoin issued through Anchorage Digital Bank, launched on Celo on July 29, 2026 — its second mainnet deployment since going live on Ethereum in January.

The choice of network wasn’t random: Celo already accounts for roughly 28% of all USDT transfers across every blockchain it’s issued on, and the network grew its user base by 67% in the second quarter of 2026 alone, driven largely by everyday payments rather than trading.

USAT arrives with gas abstraction built in from day one — users can pay transaction fees directly in USAT itself, without needing to hold a separate token just to move money. Opera’s self-custodial stablecoin wallet, built on Celo with Tether’s backing, has already onboarded more than 18 million users globally.

The bigger signal here is strategic: a compliant, bank-issued stablecoin choosing a payments-first chain over a trading-first one suggests Tether is chasing everyday remittance and commerce use cases, not just crypto-native liquidity.

Curious how stablecoins actually work under the hood? Check out the Bitcoin Academy.