Tether Deploys USAT Stablecoin on Celo, Expanding Beyond Ethereum
Tether has launched its USAT stablecoin on Celo, marking the first time the coin has been deployed beyond Ethereum. The move follows Tether's earlier announcement with Anchorage Digital Bank to support native minting, burning, and gas-fee payments on Celo.
USAT's market cap stood at approximately $185 million at the time of the launch, compared to USDT's $180 billion, according to data cited by The Block. This move is significant as it shows Tether's willingness to support networks with existing digital-dollar traffic rather than building demand from scratch.
Celo enabled the integration through its CIP-64 upgrade, a fee abstraction system that lets approved ERC-20 tokens act as gas currencies. USAT holders on Celo will not need a separate token to cover transaction fees, a friction point common on other EVM-compatible chains.