27 January 2026 – Tether, the largest company in the digital asset industry, today announces the official launch of USA₮, the federally regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin developed specifically to operate within the United States’ new federal stablecoin framework established under the GENIUS Act. The issuer of USA₮ is Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., America’s first federally regulated stablecoin issuer.
Today’s launch marks the formal market introduction of USA₮. It follows the announcement late last year outlining the token’s design and naming former White House Crypto Council Executive Director Bo Hines as CEO of Tether USA₮. USA₮ is now available to U.S. users seeking a dollar-backed token built to operate within the U.S.’ dedicated federal regime.
USA₮ represents a milestone not only for Tether but for the trajectory of the U.S. dollar in a digital era. As a potential framework for federal oversight emerges, USA₮ enters a market where dollar-backed tokens already play a central role in global commerce. This launch reinforces the strength of the U.S. dollar at a moment when countries are competing to shape the future of money. It brings together the scale and operational maturity of the world’s most widely used stablecoin ecosystem, USD₮, with a framework designed for America’s most demanding institutions, signaling a new chapter where the dollar continues to set the standard for trust, transparency, and technological leadership.
While USD₮ continues to operate globally and leads as the world’s most widely adopted stablecoin, progressing towards GENIUS Act compliance, USA₮ is purpose-built for the U.S. market and its highly digital payment infrastructure, providing institutions with a digital dollar that is issued through a nationally chartered bank.
USA₮ is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, and is available to institutions and platforms alike. USA₮ has been designed to operate within the GENIUS Act’s new federal stablecoin framework. U.S.-regulated exchanges and banking partners are being lined up to support broad access to USA₮ across the American financial ecosystem. Cantor Fitzgerald serves as the designated reserve custodian and preferred primary dealer, ensuring secure asset management and clear visibility into reserves from day one.
Anchorage Digital Bank has built scalable infrastructure with on-chain transparency, deeply integrated risk management, and bank-grade compliance. USA₮ is not simply designed to satisfy applicable regulatory requirements, but to function reliably within them – day in and day out, at an institutional scale.
Tether is reinforcing its role as a global macroeconomic participant. Tether Group is the 17th-largest holder of U.S. Treasuries globally, ahead of sovereign holders including Germany, South Korea, and Australia. USD₮ continues to power the digital economy at scale, supporting the widespread international use of the U.S. dollar for payments, commerce, and reserves.
“USA₮ offers institutions an additional option: a dollar-backed token made in America,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “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 federally regulated product designed for the American market.”
“With the launch of USA₮, we see a digital dollar that is designed to meet federal regulatory expectations,” said Bo Hines, CEO of Tether USA₮. “Our focus is stability, transparency, and responsible governance, ensuring that the United States continues to lead in dollar innovation.”
During the first phase of the launch, USA₮ will be available on Bybit, Crypto.com, Kraken, OKX, and Moonpay.
Tether Gold Accounts for More Than Half the Entire Gold-Backed Stablecoin Market as XAU₮ Surpasses $4 Billion in Value
26 January 2026 – Tether Gold (XAU₮), the world’s leading tokenized gold product, continues to strengthen its position at the center of the gold-backed stablecoin market as demand for real-world asset tokenization accelerates amid record gold prices and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.
Gold-backed stablecoins saw rapid expansion in 2025, with total market capitalization growing from approximately $1.3 billion to over $4 billion. This growth was driven by all-time-high gold prices, geopolitical fragmentation, and increasing institutional and digital-native demand for safe-haven assets that remain fully on-chain. As a further highlight of the awakening of global interest and immense demand for physical gold, spot gold surpassed US$5,000 per ounce in the days leading up to the completion of this attestation. Within this market, Tether Gold dominated issuance and circulation, accounting for approximately 60 percent of the total gold-backed stablecoin supply.
As of 31 December 2025 at 11:59 PM UTC, the Management of TG Commodities, S.A. de C.V., an El Salvador Sociedad Anónima de Capital Variable and a registered Stablecoin Issuer and Digital Asset Service Provider under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law, confirms the following:
- Key Metrics at the end of Q4 2025
- Total Physical Gold Reserves: 520,089.350 fine troy ounces
- Total XAU₮ Tokens in Circulation: 520,089.300000 XAU₮
- Gold Backing: 1:1, each XAU₮ token is backed by one fine troy ounce of physical gold
- Total Market Value: US$ 2,246,458,120
- Tokens Sold: 409,217.640000 XAU₮
- Tokens Available for Sale: 110,871.660000 XAU₮
- The gold reserves are held in Switzerland in full compliance with London Good Delivery standards set by the London Bullion Market Association.
Tether has emerged as a significant institutional gold accumulator through its gold-backed tokenization strategy. According to IMF data and a late 2025 Jefferies report, Tether now ranks among the top 30 global gold holders, surpassing countries such as Greece, Qatar, and Australia. During the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, Tether Gold Investments, which includes Tether International Limited and TG Commodities Limited, added approximately 27 metric tons of gold to its fund exposure, exceeding the gold purchases of most individual central banks over the same period.
“Through Tether Gold, we are operating at a scale that now places the Tether Gold Investment Fund alongside sovereign gold holders, and that carries real responsibility,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “XAU₮ exists to remove ambiguity at a time when confidence in monetary systems is weakening and it is being put through a pressure test by both institutions and people. Every token represents physically held, vaulted gold that can be verified on-chain, and the market’s growth shows that investors increasingly expect tokenized assets to meet the same standards as national and institutional reserves.”
As asset managers, fintech platforms, and sovereign market participants increasingly adopt blockchain-based issuance and custody models, gold has emerged as a foundational asset within the real-world asset sector. Tether Gold remains at the forefront of this market through strict 1:1 physical backing, daily transparency updates, and regulated issuance under El Salvador’s Digital Asset Issuance Law. Global markets continue to navigate monetary uncertainty and structural shifts in capital allocation, with XAU₮ providing direct exposure to physical gold ownership while preserving liquidity, portability, and transparency, combining Swiss vaulted reserves, regulated issuance, and open on-chain verification to define responsible gold tokenization at scale.
For further details, please refer to the latest XAU₮ attestation report here.
For full reserve details, regulatory disclosures, and vault transparency, visit https://gold.tether.to.
For more information on USA₮, visit USA₮.io
About USA₮
USA₮ is a U.S.-regulated dollar-backed stablecoin that Tether, the global leader in stablecoin technology, is supporting. Purpose-built to serve the U.S. market and support American regulatory standards, USA₮ is the foundational rail for the next generation of American commerce, trade, and finance.
Tether’s support for USA₮ underscores its commitment to driving U.S. dominance and leadership in the evolving digital asset economy. As part of the broader Tether ecosystem, USA₮ will set a new benchmark in the U.S. for utility-driven stablecoins designed to deliver long-term value, strong governance, and real-world applications.
Important Note:
USA₮ is not legal tender (as described in section 5103 of title 31, United States Code) and is not issued, backed, approved, or guaranteed by the U.S. government. USA₮ is not subject to the insurance protections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), or any other government agency. The press release is published by Tether Operations, S.A. de C.V. for informational purposes only.
Tether Operations, S.A. de C.V. is not the issuer of USA₮. The issuer of USA₮ is Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A.
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