FAQs

Tether Tokens exist as digital tokens built on several leading blockchains, including Algorand, Celo, Cosmos, Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Solana, Tezos, Ton, and Tron. These transport protocols consist of open source software that interface with blockchains to allow for the issuance and redemption of Tether Tokens. For a full list of supported blockchains and protocols, please see our Supported Protocols Page.

Every Tether token is 100% backed by Reserves, which includes traditional currency, cash equivalents, and other assets, including receivables from loans made by Tether to third parties.

The Tether platform is fully reserved when the sum of all Tether Tokens in circulation is less than or equal to the value of our Reserves. Through our Transparency page, anyone can review information about both of these numbers at any time. Please see "How often does Tether provide its transparency information?" for more information.

Tether was originally created to use the Bitcoin network as its transport protocol—specifically, the Omni Layer—to allow transactions of tokenised traditional currency. Tether on the Ethereum blockchain, as an ERC20 token, is a newer transport layer, which now makes Tether Tokens available in Ethereum smart contracts or decentralized applications on Ethereum. As a standard ERC20 token it can also be sent to any Ethereum address.

Since Tether Tokens are currently available using different transport protocols, when users send Tether Tokens to other addresses, they need to carefully check the destination address to confirm they are selecting the correct transport protocol.

Tether Tokens are assets that move across a blockchain just as easily as other digital currencies but that are pegged to real-world currencies on a 1-to-1 basis.

Tether Tokens are referred to as stablecoins because they offer price stability as they are pegged to a fiat currency. This offers users a low volatility solution when utilizing digital currencies.

All Tether Tokens are pegged at 1-to-1 with a matching fiat currency (e.g., 1 USD₮ = 1 USD) and are backed 100% by Tether’s Reserves.

As a fully transparent company, we typically publish daily information about Tether Tokens in circulation and quarterly information about our Reserves on the Transparency pages. Please see "How often does Tether provide its transparency information?" for more information.

Tether supports US dollars (USD), Mexican peso, offshore Chinese yuan, and Gold, with the following Tether Tokens, respectively: USD₮, MXN₮, CNH₮ and XAU₮.

Tether Tokens enable businesses – including exchanges, wallets, payment processors, financial services and ATMs – to easily use fiat currencies on blockchains. Some of the largest businesses in the digital currency ecosystem have integrated Tether Tokens.

View industry supporters. 

Individuals can also use Tether-enabled platforms to transact with Tether Tokens.

Tether Tokens are created by having multiple Tether private authorization keys sign and broadcast creation transactions on the specific blockchain. These new tokens are "authorized but not issued", meaning that these USD₮ are stored in Tether’s treasury and not in circulation until issued. Tether Tokens are “issued” when they are transferred out of Tether’s treasury, which may be to a customer who purchases these through tether.to.

Tether’s multi-signature (or multi-sig) model protects against a single person from authorizing Tether Tokens on their own, which would represent a single point of failure and a security risk.

Because they are anchored or ‘tethered’ to real-world currencies on a 1-to-1 basis and backed by our Reserves.

Tether Tokens are new assets that move across the blockchain just as easily as other digital currencies. Tether currencies are not money, but are digital tokens formatted to work on blockchains.

Tether is built on top of the revolutionary and cryptographically secure open blockchain technologies and adheres to strict security and global government laws and regulations.

All Tether Tokens are pegged at 1-to-1 with a matching fiat currency (e.g., 1 USD₮ = 1 USD) and are backed 100% by Tether’s Reserves. As a fully transparent company, we typically publish daily the information about Tether Tokens in circulation and quarterly information about our Reserves on the Transparency pages. Please see "How often does Tether provide its transparency information?" for more information.

Tether Tokens can be securely stored, sent and received across a blockchain and are redeemable for fiat currency (the underlying pegged asset) pursuant to Tether's terms of service.

Tether Tokens that are “authorized but not issued” are tokens that are created on a blockchain and sitting in Tether’s treasury. As these tokens are not in circulation, these tokens are not counted as part of the total market capitalisation of the applicable Tether token. 

“Issued” Tether Tokens are authorized tokens that are in actual circulation, including those sold and issued to Tether’s customers. “Issued” Tether Tokens are fully backed by Tether’s Reserves.

Inventory replenishment is the process of creating new Tether Tokens that are stored in Tether’s treasury inventory as “authorized but not issued” Tether Tokens. These tokens are not part of the total market capitalisation of the applicable Tether token, as they have not been issued or released into circulation yet.

Across the world, online and brick and mortar stores accept Tether Tokens as a valid payment method. More importantly, you can spend Tether Tokens and enjoy low transaction fees combined with price stability for purchasing some of your favorite products and services. 

You can find further information in Pay with Tether

Yes. Tether’s platform is built to be transparent at all times. All Tether Tokens in circulation are backed 100% by Tether’s Reserves.

View more transparency information.

Tether Tokens are sometimes burned to reduce the number of authorized tokens existing on a specific blockchain. 

These authorized tokens could be from a customer’s redemption of their Tether token holdings for fiat currency. These redeemed and returned Tether Tokens could alternatively be held by Tether’s treasury (thus out of circulation and not part of the total market capitalization), ready for future issuance.

In certain circumstances, Tether may also seize and destroy Tether Tokens remotely, in response to demands from government, law enforcement or other authorities.

“Authorized but not issued” Tether Tokens are required to keep the issuance process as secure as possible. There is a need to balance the security risks to Tether’s private keys and catering to new customer demand for Tether Tokens.

By creating “authorized but not issued” Tether Tokens, Tether limits the number of times Tether’s signers need to access their authorization private keys, thereby reducing their exposure to security threats.

Where “authorized but not issued” Tether Tokens are stored in Tether’s treasury and are not in circulation or part of the market capitalization, of Tether Tokens. Those Tether tokens can be issued by Tether as soon as new customer funds are received.

A new user can begin the registration process by filling in their personal details on the Tether sign up page here. 

As part of Tether’s robust security measures, the user must activate Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for their Tether account. The user must pay a verification fee of 150 USD₮ (the amount is non-refundable but can be part of future redemptions).

The user must then undergo a verification process, either as an individual or corporate, and submit all required documents.

Tether’s compliance team will then review the user’s verification request. As Tether’s robust Know Your Customer (KYC) process includes conducting due diligence on all customers and rating the risks of every customer, this review could take days to weeks to complete. The user will be notified once account verification has been completed.

Yes, Tether publishes Reserves reports on a quarterly basis prepared by BDO Italia, an independent third-party accounting firm. Such Reserves reports are prepared in accordance with criteria established by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). See our Reports and Reserves page for more information.

Yes, Tether has provided information by category of assets that is held as part of its Reserves for backing issued Tether Tokens on a quarterly basis since June 2021 in its Reserve reports. For more information on Reserves, please refer to the quarterly Reserves report found on our Reports and Reserves page.

Tether holds bitcoin and gold because it believes they are a hedge against inflation. Further, Tether has long been a supporter of Bitcoin’s decentralized nature and scarcity, and its ability to provide access to the global financial system to anyone with an internet connection. The rate of exchange between Bitcoin and the U.S. Dollar is volatile, and the dollar value of Tether’s Bitcoin holdings may change significantly following its most recent Reserves report. Tether regularly monitors the value of the Bitcoin it holds. Tether does not undertake to update any valuation information at any particular interval. However, Tether maintains a healthy balance of Net Equity (excess Reserves of the Tether Issuers) to act as a cushion against the volatility of bitcoin.

Tether typically provides daily updates as to the number of Tether Tokens in circulation. Tether also typically publishes quarterly reports providing information on its Reserves that are held to back Tether Tokens in circulation. Tether also provides other financial information about the assets of companies affiliated with the issuers of Tether Tokens (Additional Financial Information).

Tether does not commit to update the information at any particular interval or time, regardless of any changes in the number of Tether Tokens in circulation or the value or composition of the Reserves or Additional Financial Information. The information provided is based on the information available to Tether, which may be delayed. Accordingly, the information available on the Tokens in Circulation page may not reflect the Tether Tokens in circulation at the time the information is reviewed.