The Tether USAT Celo launch went live on July 29, 2026, marking the GENIUS Act-compliant stablecoin’s first deployment beyond Ethereum since it debuted in January. Anchorage Digital Bank, the federally chartered bank that issues USAT, confirmed the token now supports native minting, burning, and gas-fee payments on Celo.
USAT’s market cap stood at approximately $185 million at the time of the announcement, compared with USDT’s $180 billion, according to data cited by The Block.
How Celo’s Fee Abstraction Makes USAT Gas-Ready
Celo enabled the integration through its CIP-64 upgrade, a fee abstraction system that lets approved ERC-20 tokens act as gas currencies, The Block reported. USAT holders on Celo will not need a separate token to cover transaction fees, a friction point common on other EVM-compatible chains.
Tether US CEO Bo Hines said the choice of Celo was deliberate, noting the network was built to “operate in environments where digital dollars are already being used at scale.” The firms first announced the integration in March, and the July 29 deployment follows through on that plan, making Celo the second network to support USAT natively after Ethereum’s January launch.
Celo has become Tether’s largest distribution network for USDT by weekly active users since that stablecoin launched there in 2024, accounting for 28% of cross-chain USDT transfers and over 90% of volume for XAUt0, Tether’s tokenized gold product.
Tether’s own transparency data puts authorized USDT on Celo at roughly $470 million, though DefiLlama estimates the chain’s total stablecoin supply closer to $136 million, with USDT holding a 57.6% share worth $78.8 million.
What the Celo Launch Means for Stablecoin Users
For everyday users moving dollars or making payments, native gas support removes a common hurdle: needing a separate token just to move a stablecoin. Celo said the Valora wallet already supports USAT on the network. This kind of multi-chain rollout has become a recurring feature of UTB’s market news coverage as regulated stablecoins race to match USDT’s reach.
MiniPay’s Still-Pending USAT Support
Opera’s MiniPay wallet, which Celo said has onboarded more than 18 million users, has not yet added USAT support even though the Celo launch is live. Celo said the integration is planned for a future update, without giving a firm date. That gap is the most specific unresolved piece of this rollout worth tracking.
What This Means for You
If you hold or use USAT, this launch means you can transact on Celo without a separate token for gas fees, a detail that matters if you send stablecoins for payments or remittances.
It also signals Tether is leaning on networks with existing digital-dollar traffic rather than building demand from scratch, worth noting if you are weighing USAT against alternatives like USDC. Confirm that your wallet or exchange has added support before moving funds onto Celo.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Do your own research before making any investment decisions.
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