What is USDT (Tether)? How it works, where it lives and how to get it

What is USDT?

USDT is a stablecoin: a token on a blockchain that is designed to keep a steady value of one US dollar instead of moving with the crypto market. You can send it to any compatible address at any time, like any other token, but its value is tied to the dollar rather than to supply and demand for a new coin. Tether calls it USD₮ and issues it on many blockchains. The name Tether refers both to the company and, in everyday use, to the token itself.

• Ticker: USDT (Tether writes it USD₮).
• Target value: 1 US dollar per token.
• Form: a token on an existing blockchain, not a blockchain of its own.

Who issues USDT?

USDT is issued by Tether. Tether’s terms of service say the issuing entity, Tether International Limited, has redomiciled from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador and is now named Tether International, S.A. de C.V. The same terms state that Tether tokens are not legal tender, are not backed by any government and are not protected by any insurance from Tether or its affiliates. In other words, a USDT balance is a claim that depends on Tether, not a bank deposit.

How USDT is meant to hold one dollar

The peg works through issuance and redemption. When a verified Tether customer sends dollars to Tether, Tether issues new tokens, charging 0.1% per acquisition according to its fee page. When a verified customer returns tokens, Tether pays out one dollar per token, less fees, and the tokens leave circulation. Tether’s transparency page states that all Tether tokens are pegged one to one with a matching fiat currency and backed 100% by Tether’s reserves, and that the issuer’s assets exceed its liabilities. It also says the number of tokens in circulation is typically published daily.

• New USDT is created when verified customers deposit dollars with Tether.
• USDT is removed when verified customers redeem it.
• Everyone else buys and sells USDT from other people and platforms, which is where the market price is set.

Reserves and attestation reports

Tether publishes quarterly attestation reports on its reserves, prepared by the accounting firm BDO. The most recent at the time of writing was published on 31 July 2026 and gives figures as of 30 June 2026. Tether describes the reserves as centred on short-duration, liquid assets led by US Treasuries and repurchase agreements, alongside gold, bitcoin and secured loans. An attestation is a statement by an accountant about the reserves at a specific date; it is not the same as a full audit of the company, and it tells you about one moment rather than every day in between. Read the report itself on Tether’s transparency page rather than a summary of it.

Can you redeem USDT for dollars?

Only if you become a verified Tether customer. Tether’s terms say you must be a verified customer to have tokens issued or redeemed, and that the redemption price is one unit of the pegged currency per token. Its fee page sets the minimum acquisition or redemption at 100,000 USD, a redemption fee of the greater of 1,000 USD or 0.1%, and a non-refundable verification fee of 150 USD paid in Tether tokens. That puts direct redemption out of reach for most holders. In practice people turn USDT back into dollars by selling it on a platform that offers a bank withdrawal, or swap it into another coin.

Which networks is USDT on?

USDT is not one token but a family of tokens, one per blockchain, all issued by Tether. On 23 October 2026 Tether’s supported-protocols page listed Ethereum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Cosmos via Kava, Celo, Kaia, TRON, Liquid, Solana, Polkadot Asset Hub, Tezos, NEAR, TON and Aptos. Tether stopped issuing and redeeming USDT on Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS and Algorand from 1 September 2025; tokens on those chains can still be moved between wallets but are no longer officially supported. A token on one network cannot be received on another, so always check which network a wallet or deposit address expects. Our USDT network guide compares the three routes VeriSwap uses.

• Ethereum (ERC-20): 0x addresses, fee paid in ETH. Tether lists the contract 0xdAC17F958D2ee523a2206206994597C13D831ec7.
• TRON (TRC-20): addresses start with T, fee paid with TRX or Energy. Tether lists the contract TR7NHqjeKQxGTCi8q8ZY4pL8otSzgjLj6t.
• Solana (SPL): base58 addresses, fee paid in SOL. Tether lists the mint Es9vMFrzaCERmJfrF4H2FYD4KCoNkY11McCe8BenwNYB.
• Legacy chains such as Omni are wound down; do not plan to receive or redeem USDT there.

Can Tether freeze USDT?

Yes. Tether’s terms say it may freeze tokens held by a user where the law requires it or where Tether, in its sole discretion, decides it is prudent, and that it reserves the right to freeze, seize or recover tokens. Because the freeze happens in the token contract, it applies wherever the tokens sit, including a self-custody wallet. This is part of how a centrally issued stablecoin works, and it is the main way USDT differs from a coin such as Bitcoin or Monero that has no issuer.

How people use USDT

Most people use USDT to hold a dollar value without leaving crypto. Common examples: parking the proceeds of a trade instead of cashing out, moving value between platforms, paying someone who prefers dollars to a volatile coin, and keeping savings in dollars where a local bank account in dollars is hard to get. Many trading platforms also list their markets against USDT, so you often see crypto prices quoted in it. None of these uses changes the token: it remains a claim tied to Tether.

Risks to understand before you hold USDT

A stablecoin removes the price swings of a coin like Bitcoin, but it adds risks of its own. They are worth knowing whichever stablecoin you choose.

• Issuer risk: the value depends on Tether holding enough reserves and honouring redemptions.
• Counterparty and custody risk: reserves are held with banks, custodians and other parties, and a balance on a platform also depends on that platform.
• Market price: USDT trades between users, so its price can move away from one dollar when selling pressure outruns the ability to redeem, which is limited to verified customers with at least 100,000 USD.
• Freezing: the issuer can freeze tokens at an address.
• Network mistakes: sending on the wrong network is the most common way people lose stablecoins.

How to hold USDT

To hold USDT yourself you need a wallet that supports the network you will use, and a small balance of that network’s own coin to pay fees when you send: ETH on Ethereum, TRX or Energy on TRON, SOL on Solana. The wallet shows one address for the network, and your USDT appears as a token next to the native coin. Keep the recovery phrase offline and never type it into a website or a swap form; receiving USDT only ever needs an address. Our USDT wallet guide walks through wallet choices per network. Leaving USDT on a trading platform is simpler but means the platform holds it for you.

How to get USDT by swapping BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL or XMR

If you already hold crypto, you can swap it into USDT without a bank or card. On VeriSwap you choose the coin you send (BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL or XMR, among others), choose USDT and the payout network (Ethereum, TRON or Solana), and paste an address from a wallet on that network. The order shows one receive amount with the 0.5% service fee already included, valid for 15 minutes, with a 50 USD minimum. There is no account and no KYC required by us. You send the exact amount from your wallet, which pays the fee for that deposit; we pay the payout network fee. The operator checks the deposit and sends the USDT, and every step appears in the activity log on your private order page.

• BTC → USDT: send from a Bitcoin wallet, receive on the network you picked.
• ETH → USDT: the payout can be on Ethereum, TRON or Solana; it does not have to stay on Ethereum.
• XMR → USDT: send Monero and receive USDT; the Monero side stays private, the USDT payout is on a public chain.
• Save the order reference before you send.

How to check a USDT payout arrived

Copy the payout transaction ID from your order page and look it up in a block explorer for the network you chose: Etherscan for Ethereum, Tronscan for TRON, a Solana explorer for Solana. It shows the token, the amount and the receiving address. If the explorer shows the transfer but your wallet does not, check that the wallet is on the same network and, if it hides unknown tokens, that USDT is enabled. Compare the token contract with the one Tether lists, so you know it is real USDT.

Mistakes to avoid with USDT

Almost every lost USDT comes down to networks and look-alike tokens.

• Choosing TRON in one place and Ethereum in another for the same transfer.
• Trying to send USDT from a wallet with no ETH, TRX or SOL for the fee.
• Trusting a token named USDT without checking its contract against Tether’s list.
• Planning to redeem with Tether for a small amount: the minimum is 100,000 USD.
• Typing a recovery phrase into anything other than your own wallet.