Tether's USAT Stablecoin Expands to Celo Network
Tether's USAT stablecoin has reached a significant milestone by launching on Celo, marking its first deployment beyond Ethereum. The launch was quietly achieved on July 29, 2026, and represents a major step forward for Tether's regulated stablecoin strategy.
The GENIUS Act-compliant USAT token now supports native minting, burning, and gas-fee payments directly on Celo, which has become Tether's largest distribution network for USDT by weekly active users. Since USDT launched on Celo in 2024, the network has hosted over 90% of volume for XAUt0, Tether's tokenized gold product.
Celo's fee abstraction mechanism, CIP-64, allows approved ERC-20 tokens to function as gas currencies, eliminating the need for a separate native token. This upgrade enables USAT holders on Celo to pay for transactions directly with USAT, reducing friction and making it easier for everyday users to use stablecoins for payments or remittances.