Leading stablecoin issuer Tether is now offering a new dollar-based digital asset in the form of USA₮. The stablecoin is being offered in partnership with Anchorage Digital, a federally chartered digital asset bank.
While the Tether stablecoin USDT is still very much in the mix, with a market cap of over $186 billion, it appears the company decided it was easier to start over and create a new digital asset to comply with the GENIUS Act requirements.
Tether states:
“For institutions navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory environment, USA₮ offers a trusted foundation: transparent reserves, robust controls, and operational discipline drawn from traditional banking, coupled with the speed and programmability of on-chain rails.”
Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of Anchorage Digital, says that stablecoin infrastructure needs a trusted foundation and that is where they come in. He says USA₮ is an example of what is possible when a stablecoin is issued within the US banking system.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, adds:
“USA₮ offers institutions an additional option: a dollar-backed token issued within a U.S. federal regulatory framework. USD₮ has proven for more than a decade that digital dollars can deliver trust, transparency, and utility at a global scale. USA₮ extends that mission by providing a U.S.-regulated product designed for the American market.”
As all big banks are expected to get into the stablecoin business, it was probably faster to create an entirely new digital dollar than to redo USDT to conform to the rules, while digging into its not-too-distant past. Competition is heating up, and Tether has a lot of experience in crypto, which it can put to work while offering a compliant digital asset. It appears that USDT will be positioned as a stablecoin for the rest of the world, perhaps, at some point it will merge with the new and improved digital dollar.