Key Highlights
- USA₮, the U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and backed by Tether, has launched on Celo.
- Celo becomes the second blockchain after Ethereum to support USA₮ natively.
- Users can pay gas fees directly in USA₮ through Celo’s fee abstraction technology.
USA₮, the U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank and backed by Tether, has officially launched on the Celo blockchain, extending the regulated stablecoin beyond Ethereum for the first time.
According to an official blog post, the launch, announced on Wednesday, makes Celo the second blockchain to natively support USA₮. It becomes the first network where users can pay transaction fees directly in the stablecoin itself through the network’s built-in fee abstraction system.
The integration expands Tether’s ecosystem on Celo, where the company already supports native USD₮ and XAUt0, its omnichain gold-backed token.
How native gas payments work
One of the key features of the integration is the ability to use USA₮ as a gas currency. Unlike many blockchain networks that require users to hold a separate native token to pay transaction fees, Celo allows approved ERC-20 assets to function as gas currencies. This means users can transact using USA₮ without first acquiring CELO tokens.
According to Celo, stablecoins already account for more than half of gas fee payments on the network, reflecting growing use of digital dollars for everyday blockchain transactions.
Marek Olszewski, CEO of Celo Core Co., said the integration brings another regulated payment asset to users already relying on stablecoins. He added, “Bringing Anchorage and Tether’s compliant stablecoin infrastructure to Celo is another step toward expanding on-chain financial access.”
USA₮ expands beyond Ethereum
The Celo launch is the latest expansion for USA₮ since its introduction on Ethereum.
Earlier this year, Rumble integrated USA₮ into its crypto wallet, allowing users to send, receive, and store the regulated stablecoin alongside USD₮, Tether Gold (XAU₮), and Bitcoin. The rollout represented one of the first consumer-facing use cases for USA₮ outside traditional financial infrastructure.
With Celo joining Ethereum, USA₮ is gradually expanding its presence across blockchain payment networks as competition among regulated dollar-backed stablecoins continues to grow.
Tether deepens its presence on Celo
The launch of USA₮ further expands Tether’s presence within the Celo ecosystem, which already supports native USD₮ and XAUt0. Since USD₮ was introduced on Celo in 2024, the network has seen growing stablecoin activity, with XAUt0 also gaining adoption.
Commenting on the expansion, Bo Hines, CEO of Tether US, said the decision to bring USA₮ to Celo was driven by the network’s growing role in stablecoin payments. He added, “USA₮ is designed to operate where digital dollars are already being used at scale, and Celo has built that ecosystem.”
Support for the stablecoin is also expanding across Celo-based applications. Valora has already integrated USA₮, while MiniPay, Opera’s stablecoin wallet, is expected to add support in a future update.
Celo also said integrations with decentralized finance protocols, including Morpho, Squid, and Uniswap, are planned, enabling users to trade, lend, and access cross-chain liquidity using the stablecoin.
Anchorage brings regulated issuance to USA₮
USA₮ is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States.
According to the announcement, the stablecoin is backed by reserves custodied by Cantor Fitzgerald and has been structured to align with standards established under the GENIUS Act, the United States’ recently enacted stablecoin legislation.
The launch reflects the broader shift toward regulated stablecoins as banks, fintech firms, and blockchain networks increasingly compete to offer compliant digital dollar infrastructure for payments, settlements, and decentralized finance.
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