Overview
- Tether released tether.wallet Tuesday, a self-custodial app that supports USDT, USA₮, gold-backed XAU₮, and Bitcoin both on-chain and over the Lightning Network in a move to serve consumers directly.
- The app replaces long crypto addresses with human-readable IDs like name@tether.me, lets fees come from the asset being sent, and adds a single QR code with automatic network detection to cut common errors and setup steps.
- Users hold their private keys and sign transactions on their own devices, which boosts control but also means a lost recovery phrase can permanently lock funds.
- The wallet is built on Tether’s open-source Wallet Development Kit, which is designed for people, businesses, and software agents to move money programmatically, including AI-initiated payments.
- Tether lists Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, Plasma, and Bitcoin as live networks at launch and says Solana, TON, and BNB Chain are planned for later in 2026 while some legacy networks are being wound down.