Tether has approximately two years to secure a compliant route for USDT under the United States’ new federal stablecoin framework or risk seeing the token removed from American cryptocurrency exchanges by July 18, 2028.
The deadline originates from the GENIUS Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 18, 2025. The legislation established federal rules for payment stablecoins and gave digital-asset service providers a three-year transition period before restrictions on noncompliant tokens take effect.
From July 18, 2028, exchanges and other covered platforms generally cannot offer or sell a payment stablecoin to customers in the United States unless it is issued by a permitted payment stablecoin issuer or qualifies under the law’s provisions for foreign issuers.
That distinction is important. The law does not specifically name or prohibit USDT, and removal is not automatic. However, US exchanges could be required to stop making the token available if Tether fails to obtain the necessary regulatory recognition.
Foreign-Issuer Path Requires US Oversight
Tether issues USDT through an overseas corporate structure and relocated its headquarters to El Salvador in 2025. Its position differs from that of US-based issuers such as Circle, whose USDC product is structured around domestic regulatory requirements.
Under the GENIUS Act, a foreign stablecoin issuer may access the American market if the Treasury Department determines that its home jurisdiction operates a regulatory and supervisory regime comparable to the US framework. The issuer must also register with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and submit to ongoing reporting, supervision and examination.
Additional requirements include the ability to comply with lawful US orders and maintaining sufficient liquidity in a US financial institution to meet redemption demands from American customers, unless an approved reciprocal arrangement provides an alternative.
The framework also requires payment stablecoins to be backed one-for-one by permitted liquid assets, including cash, insured deposits and short-term US Treasury securities. Issuers must publish monthly reserve information, establish redemption procedures and comply with anti-money-laundering and sanctions obligations.
USDT currently has a market capitalization of approximately $184 billion, making it the largest stablecoin and one of the most heavily traded assets in global cryptocurrency markets. Losing regulated US exchange access would not eliminate its international use, but it could reduce its role in American trading, custody and payments.
USAT Provides Tether With a Domestic Strategy
Tether has already established a separate product for the regulated US market. The company launched USA₮, or USAT, in January 2026 through Anchorage Digital Bank, a federally regulated institution that serves as the token’s issuer.
USAT was explicitly designed to operate within the GENIUS Act framework, with Cantor Fitzgerald serving as reserve custodian and preferred primary dealer. The structure allows Tether to pursue US growth without immediately converting USDT into a domestically issued stablecoin.
Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino has previously indicated that Tether also intends to seek compliance for USDT as a foreign-issued token. The company could therefore maintain two distinct products: USAT for regulated domestic activity and USDT for international markets.
The July 2028 deadline nevertheless creates a consequential strategic decision. Tether must either accept deeper US regulatory oversight for USDT or allow its American presence to shift increasingly toward USAT, potentially giving compliant competitors greater control over dollar-denominated liquidity on US exchanges.
