Tether Launches Self-Custodial Wallet for Billions of Users

Tether’s new self-custodial wallet brings digital dollars, gold, and Bitcoin to 570M+ users worldwide. Here’s what you need to know.

Tether, the largest company in the digital asset space, officially launched tether.wallet on April 14, 2026. The new app puts its global financial infrastructure directly into users’ hands. 

Tether described it as the “People’s Wallet.” It serves everyday users across more than 160 countries. 

The launch comes as the company’s technology reaches over 570 million people globally.

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What tether.wallet Offers Users

The wallet supports digital dollars via USD-T and USA-T, gold through XAU-T, and Bitcoin. It covers both on-chain Bitcoin transactions and Lightning Network payments. 

Users can send funds using a simple username format, such as [email protected]. This removes the need to copy long wallet addresses. Transaction fees are paid in the asset being transferred, so users do not need separate tokens for gas.

According to Tether, the app is fully self-custodial. 

All transactions are signed locally on the user’s device. Private keys and recovery phrases remain solely under the user’s control. 

The company says this design reflects its founding principle: financial systems should be open, neutral, and user-controlled.

At launch, USD-T runs on Ethereum, Polygon, Plasma, and Arbitrum. 

XAU-T is available on those same networks. USA-T currently supports Ethereum only. Tether confirmed that additional blockchains will follow after the initial release.

Tether CEO Speaks on Financial Inclusion

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, addressed the launch directly. He stated that Tether has achieved the widest financial inclusion success in history. 

Ardoino said the goal is to remove complexity without stripping away what makes digital assets valuable. He added that users should send value as easily as sending a message, with no middlemen involved.

Tether noted that nearly half of the world’s population lacks access to basic financial services. The company has been adding tens of millions of new wallets per quarter. 

The launch marks Tether’s shift from infrastructure provider to direct consumer product. Ardoino described it as a natural evolution of the company’s role.

Built on Open-Source Wallet Technology

Tether built tether.wallet on top of its Wallet Development Kit, known as WDK. 

WDK is open-source and available to developers, businesses, and AI systems. It allows anyone to build and control self-custodial wallets. Tether positioned WDK as foundational technology for a future involving human, machine, and AI-driven transactions.

The company envisions a world where tens of billions of humans and trillions of AI agents transact at high speed. 

WDK is designed to support that scale. 

The wallet’s interface automatically surfaces available networks and balances. Users interact with a clean experience, with blockchain complexity handled behind the scenes. 

Tether says more features and supported networks are on the way.

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