Tether Launches US-Regulated "USAT" Stablecoin

Tether has taken a major step toward U.S. regulatory alignment with the launch of USAT, a new U.S.-regulated stablecoin issued in partnership with Anchorage Digital. Announced Tuesday, the product represents Tether’s first stablecoin explicitly designed to comply with the GENIUS Act, signaling a strategic shift as Washington tightens oversight of dollar-pegged tokens.

A Stablecoin Built for U.S. Regulation

According to Tether, USAT is now live for trading and has already debuted on major exchanges including Kraken and Crypto.com. Unlike Tether’s flagship USDT, USAT is issued directly by Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered digital asset bank, placing the stablecoin under the supervision of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC).

This structure provides USAT with a clear regulatory pathway at a time when U.S. policymakers are demanding bank-grade compliance, transparency, and reserve discipline from stablecoin issuers.

GENIUS Act Sets the Rules

The GENIUS Act, passed last summer, significantly expanded the OCC’s authority over stablecoins. Under the framework, issuers are required to back tokens primarily with cash and U.S. Treasuries, while meeting strict reporting and reserve standards.

As the legislation took shape, major financial institutions such as JPMorgan Chase publicly questioned how Tether would adapt, given that USDT’s reserves include assets like Bitcoin and gold. Analysts warned that without structural changes, Tether risked being sidelined as Wall Street moved toward fully regulated stablecoin infrastructure.

USAT as a Bridge Strategy

On Tuesday, Tether said its $168 billion USDT stablecoin is “progressing toward GENIUS Act compliance” but emphasized that USAT will serve institutional demand in the meantime. To reinforce credibility, Tether designated Cantor Fitzgerald as USAT’s reserve custodian and preferred primary dealer.

Cantor has long played a role in Tether’s U.S. footprint. During crypto’s downturn in 2023, Howard Lutnick, then CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald, publicly defended Tether, noting the bank’s role in holding large quantities of U.S. Treasuries backing its reserves.

Leadership and U.S. Expansion

Tether first unveiled USAT in September, appointing Bo Hines, the former executive director of the White House crypto council, as CEO of a dedicated U.S. entity overseeing the rollout.

Meanwhile, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino reiterated earlier statements that the company intends to fully register USDT under the GENIUS Act. Competitors such as Circle have argued that their early compliance posture positions them as prime beneficiaries of the new law, particularly among U.S. institutions.

Targeting Institutional Use Cases

While USDT remains dominant globally, USAT’s launch underscores Tether’s effort to compete more directly in U.S. institutional markets, where USDC has traditionally held an advantage. The move reflects a balancing act: maintaining global scale while meeting stricter domestic regulatory expectations.

Anchorage Digital, which received conditional approval for a national trust bank charter from the OCC in 2021, is positioning itself as a cornerstone of this transition. In October, the firm announced plans to issue a stablecoin on Solana in partnership with Western Union, highlighting its ambitions beyond custody alone.

Banking-Grade Stablecoin Issuance

In a separate statement, Anchorage emphasized USAT’s on-chain transparency, integrated risk management, and bank-level compliance controls. Co-founder and CEO Nathan McCauley framed the launch as a proof point for regulated stablecoin issuance.

As regulators push the stablecoin market toward formal banking standards, USAT’s debut shows how Tether plans to remain central to the ecosystem-by building within the system, not around it.