Key Takeaways:
Tether's US-domestic stablecoin USAT grew sixfold in April, signaling institutional demand for a GENIUS-compliant digital dollar.
Tether's USAT supply rose 540% month-over-month to 140 million tokens in April, according to an attestation from issuer Anchorage Digital Bank, as the company's push into the US regulatory perimeter gains traction.
"The April report shows regulated digital dollar adoption accelerating at exactly the moment US policy is beginning to catch up with market demand," Tether Chief Executive Officer Paolo Ardoino said.
The total reserve balance rose to $141.2 million, comprising $13.4 million in cash and $127.8 million in reverse repurchase agreements collateralized by US Treasury securities, with a $327,450 surplus relative to outstanding tokens. The token is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, the first federally chartered crypto-native bank regulated by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with Cantor Fitzgerald serving as reserve custodian.
USAT, launched in January, is designed to comply with the GENIUS Act's requirements for payment stablecoins, which mandate one-for-one backing in cash or high-quality liquid assets and monthly reserve attestations by a registered accounting firm. The rapid supply growth suggests institutions are positioning ahead of a mid-2028 deadline when US digital-asset service providers may only offer federally approved stablecoins.
Tether earned $10 billion in net profit across 2025 and $1.04 billion in the first quarter of 2026, the same period its excess reserves hit a record $8.23 billion, according to attestations by BDO. The company's flagship USDT token, with more than $183 billion in circulation, remains the dominant dollar-pegged token globally, particularly across emerging markets in Argentina, Turkey and Nigeria.
USAT's reserves are held in segregated fiduciary trust accounts and have been reviewed by Deloitte, one of the four largest accounting firms. The structure places USAT inside the US regulatory perimeter while USDT continues to operate offshore with a reserve mix that includes gold and bitcoin — assets the GENIUS Act bars payment stablecoins from holding.
What USAT's growth means for the two-coin strategy
The 540% supply increase validates Tether's dual-token approach: a compliant onshore product for US-regulated venues and an offshore token for global markets. USAT Chief Executive Officer Bo Hines said earlier this year that Tether could become a top 10 US Treasury purchaser on the back of stablecoin growth. Anchorage's stablecoins-as-a-service business has also been tapped by Western Union, OSL Group and Falcon Finance for their own tokenized dollar products.
For US policymakers, the rapid adoption of USAT creates a supervised channel for dollar digital currency while USDT's $183 billion pool remains beyond direct federal oversight. The 2028 transition deadline will determine whether the two-coin structure holds or whether market forces push the offshore supply toward compliance.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
