Tether has launched USA₮, a federally regulated US stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, making it the first fully compliant offering for US users under the newly enacted GENIUS Act.
The move comes as Standard Chartered warns that stablecoins could siphon as much as $100 billion from US bank deposits as the market continues to grow.
Summary
- Tether launched USA₮, a federally regulated US stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank under the GENIUS Act.
- Standard Chartered warned that stablecoins could drain around $100 billion from US bank deposits.
- As stablecoins scale to a projected $2 trillion market by 2028, regulated tokens like USA₮ can accelerate institutional adoption.
USA₮ was introduced on Monday to meet the requirements of the GENIUS Act, the first nationwide framework for stablecoins sold to US customers. The law requires dollar-backed tokens to be issued by federally or state qualified entities, effectively excluding Tether’s flagship USDT from the US market and encouraging the creation of a separate compliant token.
Bo Hines, former executive director of the White House Crypto Council, is leading the initiative as CEO of Tether USA₮. The token is now live on Bybit, Crypto.com, Kraken, OKX and MoonPay, with Cantor Fitzgerald serving as backup custodian. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, described USA₮ as “a dollar-backed token made in America,” aimed at institutions that require federal oversight.
The launch puts Tether in more direct competition with Circle’s USDC, which has dominated institutional adoption in the US due to early regulatory alignment. USDT will continue to operate internationally, where it has approximately $143 billion in circulation.
On the same day as the launch, Standard Chartered published a report warning that stablecoins pose a structural threat to bank financing. Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital asset research, estimates that a third of the current $301.4 billion market capitalization of stablecoins could come from U.S. bank deposits — roughly $100 billion.
Because stablecoin issuers largely hold reserves in government bonds rather than pouring money back into the banking system, Kendrick argues that the inflows will put permanent pressure on banks’ balance sheets. Tether has just 0.02% of its reserves in bank deposits, compared to 14.5% for Circle.
According to the report, regional banks are the most vulnerable, while larger institutions are better insulated. Kendrick predicts that the stablecoin market could reach $2 trillion by 2028, increasing competitive pressure on traditional banks as regulated tokens like the VS₮ gain momentum.
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