Tether (USDT): what it is, who issues it and how it works

Who issues Tether (USDT)

Tether is both the name of the token and the name of the company group that issues it. Tether's about page carries the name Tether Operations, S.A. de C.V. and dates the company's start to 2014, when it launched the Tether.to platform. Its terms of service, last updated 26 February 2026, name the contracting party for customers as Tether International, S.A. de C.V., formerly Tether International Limited, and say that entity redomiciled from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador. The terms are still governed by British Virgin Islands law.

The about page lists Paolo Ardoino as chief executive, Giancarlo Devasini as chairman, Simon McWilliams as chief financial officer and Claudia Lagorio as chief operating officer.

USDT is distinct from USA₮, a newer dollar token Tether supports for the US market. Tether's announcement of 27 January 2026 says USA₮ is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A. under the US federal framework, with Cantor Fitzgerald as reserve custodian, and states that Tether Operations is not its issuer. USDT continues to operate outside that structure, and Tether says it is working toward compliance with the GENIUS Act.

How USDT works

USDT is a token pegged to the US dollar. Tether creates new tokens when an approved customer sends it dollars and destroys them when a customer redeems. Everyone else gets USDT on an exchange, a broker or from another person, at a market price that usually sits close to $1 but is not guaranteed to.

Direct issuance and redemption are wholesale services. Tether's fee page sets these terms:

As a worked example, redeeming $500,000 of USDT directly costs $1,000, because 0.1% ($500) is below the $1,000 floor. Tether says it has sole discretion over which accounts it approves. Retail buyers therefore pay exchange fees and spreads rather than these issuer fees; our guide on how to buy crypto safely covers that route.

Who can use Tether directly

Tether's terms treat several groups as prohibited persons who cannot become customers:

• US persons, except eligible contract participants that Tether agrees to accept;
• Canadian and Singaporean persons, and the Government of Venezuela;
• residents of Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Syria, Crimea, the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, and the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine;
• sanctioned persons, and individuals under 18.

These rules cover accounts with Tether itself. Whether you can buy or hold USDT on an exchange depends on that exchange's rules and on local law where you live.

Supported blockchains

USDT exists as separate token contracts on many networks. Tether's supported-protocols page lists Ethereum, Tron, Solana, Avalanche, Celo, Kaia, Kava, Liquid, Polkadot AssetHub, Tezos, NEAR, TON and Aptos. It also lists chains where Tether no longer issues or redeems USDT: Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama AssetHub, EOS (now Vaulta) and Algorand. Its terms date the end of redemptions on those chains to 1 September 2025.

A transfer of USDT on one network cannot be received on another. Before sending, match the network your recipient or exchange expects, and check the contract address against Tether's page rather than a search result.

Reserves and attestations

Tether's transparency page states that every token is "backed 100%" by its reserves and that the issuer's assets exceed its liabilities. Circulation figures are typically published daily, and quarterly attestations are prepared by BDO, which Tether describes as a top-five global accounting firm.

The Q3 2026 figures, as of 30 September 2026 and published by Tether on 30 October 2026:

Tether's Q2 release also reports gold holdings of more than 146 tons and secured lending, which it said it cut by about $2.38 billion, or 15%, during that quarter. Neither release gives reserve percentages. Gold and secured loans behave differently from Treasury bills: gold's dollar value moves with its price, and a loan depends on the borrower and its collateral, so the mix matters as well as the total. An attestation reports on balances at a single date; it is not a full audit. Our guide to assessing a stablecoin explains how to read these reports.

Regulatory track record

• February 2021, New York Attorney General: Bitfinex and Tether agreed to pay $18.5 million and to stop trading with New Yorkers. The Attorney General found that Tether's claim of full backing at all times was false, and required quarterly reporting and public disclosure of the categories of assets backing the tokens.
• October 2021, CFTC: the CFTC ordered the Tether entities to pay a $41 million civil penalty. It found that Tether held enough fiat reserves to back USDT on only 27.6% of days in a 26-month sample covering 2016 to 2018, and that it held reserves with unregulated third parties and in non-fiat assets.
• January 2026: Tether launched USA₮ through Anchorage Digital Bank for the US market, as described above.

Freezing and custody risks

Tether's terms allow it to freeze tokens, blacklist addresses holding them and seize assets when its terms are breached or the law requires it. Your redemption right is described as "a contractual right personal to you" that applies only once you are a verified customer, so most holders depend on market liquidity rather than redemption. USDT kept on an exchange also carries that exchange's custody risk. Phishing schemes often ask for USDT on a specific network; see our guide to avoiding wallet scams.

Alternatives by function

Other dollar stablecoins differ mainly in who issues them, how they are supervised and how often they report. USD Coin (USDC), for example, has a different issuer and reporting model. USDT's disclosures and oversight are assessed separately in our Tether review, which applies the published rating criteria; this profile describes the token and its issuer.