Tether, a major stablecoin operator, is expanding the use of its USDT stablecoin by collaborating with the Celo network. The integration of USDT on Celo, an Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible layer-1 network, will provide several advantages, including low transaction fees of around $0.001, making microtransactions feasible. Celo, known for its fast and low-cost payment capabilities, offers a range of stable assets, such as Mento’s eXOF and cREAL, which track the CFA franc and the Brazilian real, respectively. The use cases for stable assets on Celo include remittances, savings, lending, and cross-border payments. Celo co-founder Rene Reinsberg expressed excitement about Tether USDT joining the Celo ecosystem, offering users more options for fast and affordable payments. The exact launch date for USDT on Celo has not been disclosed.
In January 2024, Celo’s competitor, USDC, also announced its native launch on the Celo network. Currently, Tether supports 14 blockchains, including Tron, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and Omni, with Tron and Ethereum being the two largest blockchains for USDT. However, the high fees on the Ethereum network have led to complaints from the crypto community. Celo, being EVM-compatible, offers an alternative as it does not depend on Ethereum for network fees. This means that even if Ethereum fees increase, Celo fees may not be affected in the same way. Overall, the collaboration between Tether and Celo aims to provide users with more options for fast and cost-effective transactions.