Tether and foreign stablecoin issuers have until July 2028 to comply with GENIUS Act requirements or risk delisting from U.S. crypto exchanges.
DeFi & Yields ·
Tether's USDT stablecoin and other non-U.S. stablecoin issuers face a two-year compliance window ending in July 2028 under the GENIUS Act, with potential delisting from U.S. crypto exchanges if they fail to meet regulatory requirements. CEO Paolo Ardoino previously stated the company would achieve compliance, but Tether has not yet disclosed a concrete compliance strategy, and recent disclosures indicate roughly a quarter of USDT's reserves remain in assets incompatible with GENIUS standards, including precious metals, lending products, and bitcoin.
The GENIUS Act became law one year ago, but federal financial regulators have not yet finalized implementing rules despite a deadline to do so, creating uncertainty around compliance pathways. U.S.-based competitor Circle has made more apparent efforts toward early compliance. Tether has launched USAT, a U.S.-focused token through banking partner Anchorage Digital, though it remains at low adoption levels so far.
What remains unclear is whether Tether will restructure USDT itself to meet foreign-issuer standards or rely solely on USAT for U.S. markets, and whether regulators will meet the full implementation deadline before the July 2028 safe harbor expires.