Who issues USDT?
USDT is issued by Tether International, S.A. de C.V. Tether's Terms of Service, last updated on 26 February 2026, say the company was formerly Tether International Limited and has moved its registration from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador.
The name changes depending on where you look. Tether's own pages write USD₮ or “Tether Tokens”. Exchanges, wallets and P2P markets list the token as USDT. Both names refer to the same token.
Tether's FAQ says a token counts as issued when it is transferred out of Tether's treasury. So every USDT on an exchange started at Tether and has since passed between users.
How does USDT stay at $1? What Tether actually says
On the link to the dollar, Tether's FAQ and Terms say this:
- A 1:1 peg. The FAQ says: “All Tether Tokens are pegged at 1-to-1 with a matching fiat currency”. For USDT, the matching currency is the US dollar.
- Full backing by reserves. “Every Tether token is 100% backed by Reserves.” The FAQ defines the platform as fully reserved when the tokens in circulation add up to no more than the value of the reserves.
- Redemption for verified customers. Tokens can be redeemed for dollars under the Terms, but only by someone who is “a verified customer of Tether”.
The FAQ and Terms describe no further mechanism that holds the market price at $1. The Terms also set out what the tokens are not. They “are not legal tender and are not backed by any Government”. The reserves are “comprised of cash, cash equivalents and other assets”, and the Terms add that they may include loan receivables.
The price you see on an exchange is a trading price between users, not a price Tether publishes. How far it moves from $1, and what the official pages say about that, is covered in USDT to USD: why 1 USDT is not always exactly $1.
What backs USDT: quarterly attestations and a 2025 audit
Tether publishes two kinds of report. Its FAQ says quarterly reserve reports are prepared by BDO Italia, an independent accounting firm. Separately, Tether announced on 13 August 2026 that KPMG U.S. had audited the financial statements of Tether International, S.A. de C.V. for the year ended 31 December 2025.
| Report | As of | Prepared by | Figures in Tether's press release |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly attestation | 30 June 2026 | BDO | Total assets about USD 187.75 billion; liabilities about USD 183.64 billion; excess reserves about USD 4.11 billion |
| Quarterly attestation | 31 March 2026 | BDO | Total assets about USD 191.77 billion; excess reserves about USD 8.23 billion; US Treasury exposure about USD 141 billion, gold about USD 20 billion, bitcoin about USD 7 billion |
| Annual audit | 31 December 2025 | KPMG U.S. | Described by Tether as an unqualified opinion; Tether's CFO is quoted as saying reserves exceeded liabilities by USD 6.814 billion |
All of these figures are as stated in Tether's own press releases, dated 31 July, 1 May and 13 August 2026. Tether calls the quarterly reports attestations and the 2025 report an audit; these are different kinds of accounting work with different scope. Note also that excess reserves were lower at the end of June than at the end of March.
Tether's Transparency page says information about tokens in circulation “is typically published daily”. A newer quarterly report may be out by the time you read this; Tether lists them in its news section.
Can you redeem USDT with Tether yourself?
Only as a verified Tether customer, and the entry point is high. Tether's fees page lists these terms:
| Item | Tether's fees page |
|---|---|
| Minimum purchase or redemption | USD 100,000 |
| Redemption fee | The greater of USD 1,000 or 0.1% |
| Purchase (acquisition) fee | 0.1% |
| Verification fee | USD 150 paid in Tether Tokens; non-refundable, but it can form part of a redemption |
The FAQ warns that the account review “could take days to weeks to complete”, and Tether keeps the discretion to turn an account down. The Terms also exclude some groups from buying or redeeming directly, including US persons (apart from eligible contract participants that Tether accepts), Canadian persons and Singaporean persons.
Buying or selling USDT on an exchange or P2P market is a trade with another user. It is not a redemption, and the 1:1 rate does not apply to it.
One more term matters to every holder. Tether can freeze tokens held by a user and can blacklist any address that holds Tether Tokens.
Which blockchains carry USDT, and which ones Tether dropped in 2025
USDT exists as a separate token on each of several blockchains. Tether's Supported Protocols page lists 13 for USD₮: Ethereum (ERC20), Avalanche, Kava (Cosmos), Celo, Kaia, TRON (TRC20), Liquid, Solana, Polkadot AssetHub, Tezos, NEAR, TON and Aptos.
Five more are listed as deprecated: Omni on the Bitcoin blockchain, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS and Algorand. Tether announced on 11 July 2025 that it would stop redeeming on these chains from 1 September 2025, and the Terms confirm that date. The original plan was to freeze the remaining tokens. An update on 29 August 2025 dropped the freeze: tokens on those chains can still move between wallets, but Tether no longer issues or redeems them there and no longer supports them like other Tether tokens.
USDT on TRON and USDT on Ethereum are separate tokens on separate networks, so the sender and the receiver have to use the same one. Before sending, check which networks your wallet or exchange lists for USDT on its deposit page.
One sentence in Tether's FAQ still names Algorand and EOS among USDT's blockchains. The Supported Protocols page and the Terms of Service are the more specific sources on which chains are active.
Why USDT in your currency is not $1 times the exchange rate
Tether's 1:1 promise is in US dollars only. Tether quotes no price in pesos, rupees or dirhams. When you buy USDT with local money, the price comes from a market.
On P2P markets, that price is set by the users who post ads. OKX's help centre says P2P buyers pay “a rate set by the users themselves”. Binance says the offers on its P2P market “are provided by other Binance users”. The P2P price of 1 USDT in Indian rupees, for example, can therefore sit above or below what $1 converts to at the exchange rate.
The rates page shows this gap for 11 currencies and refreshes every 10 minutes. It sets the OKX and Binance P2P buy and sell rates next to a spot reference: the OKX USDT/USD index multiplied by the day's exchange rate for the US dollar. How the comparison works, with a dated snapshot of the gaps, is in USDT P2P premium: why local prices differ from the exchange rate.
FAQ
Is USDT the same as Tether?
USDT is the ticker that exchanges and wallets use for Tether's US dollar token. Tether's own pages write it as USD₮ or call it Tether Tokens. Tether is the company; USDT is the token.
Is 1 USDT always worth exactly $1?
Tether pegs it 1:1 and redeems at that rate, minus fees, for verified customers redeeming at least USD 100,000. On exchanges the price comes from trading and can sit slightly above or below 1. See USDT to USD.
Is USDT legal tender?
No. Tether's Terms of Service say Tether Tokens are not legal tender and are not backed by any government. How USDT is treated where you live depends on local law.
Who checks Tether's reserves?
Tether's FAQ says BDO Italia prepares the quarterly reserve reports. Tether also announced on 13 August 2026 that KPMG U.S. audited the 2025 financial statements of Tether International, S.A. de C.V.