Tether has partnered with Opera to integrate USDT and Tether Gold into the MiniPay wallet, expanding stable financial access across emerging markets.
Key Takeaways
- Tether’s USDT and Tether Gold are now available in Opera’s MiniPay wallet, allowing millions in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia to save and transact in stable digital assets.
- MiniPay reached over 12.6 million activated wallets and 3.5 million P2P payments in December 2025, showing strong demand for stablecoins.
- Opera shares surged 18% following the announcement, signaling strong investor confidence in the wallet’s traction.
- Celo blockchain saw 506% user growth year-over-year, making it the fastest-growing native chain for USDT.
What Happened?
Opera and Tether have expanded their partnership to bring support for USDT and Tether Gold (XAU₮0) into Opera’s MiniPay, a self-custodial crypto wallet built on the Celo blockchain. The integration allows users to hold, send, and receive stable, dollar-based and gold-backed assets directly from their smartphones. This move aims to offer more people in emerging markets affordable, accessible financial tools that bypass traditional banking limitations.
Tether and Opera Expand Financial Access in Emerging Markets Through MiniPay
— Tether (@tether) February 2, 2026
Read more:https://t.co/U7MzL4Vd7D
MiniPay’s Rapid Growth Across Mobile-First Regions
Opera’s MiniPay wallet is quickly becoming one of the largest stablecoin wallets globally. According to the companies, MiniPay has now crossed:
- 12.6 million activated wallets
- 350 million transactions
- 3.64 million estimated on-chain users on Celo
- 7 million phone-verified USDT wallets
In December 2025 alone, users initiated:
- More than 96 million USDT in stablecoin transfers
- Over 3.5 million peer-to-peer payments
- $153 million in total value sent or received
This growth marks a sharp acceleration. MiniPay’s on-chain user base expanded by 50% in Q4 2025, and Celo saw a 506% annual increase in native USDT users, from 825,000 to 5 million.
The wallet has gained particular traction in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, regions where mobile-first access and limited banking infrastructure make stable digital currencies a practical alternative to volatile local currencies.
Local Onramps and Global Liquidity
A major driver of adoption has been MiniPay’s integration with local financial services, making it easy to move fiat money in and out of the wallet. Partners like Fonbank, Partna, Daimo, Cashramp, Binance, and Bybit have helped users add over $49 million USD in cash to their wallets, bridging the gap between local economies and Tether’s global liquidity network.
Opera’s Market Impact
Following the announcement, Opera’s shares jumped nearly 18%, reaching $14.75. The market response highlights growing investor optimism around the commercial potential of embedded crypto tools within widely used applications like Opera’s mobile browser.
Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera said:
Tether’s Broader Vision for Stable Finance
Tether has framed the move as part of its ongoing mission to provide reliable access to stable value, particularly in regions where inflation or economic instability weakens local currencies. In 2025, Tether reported $10 billion in net profit, with over $186 billion in USDT circulation, largely backed by U.S. Treasuries.
The addition of Tether Gold (XAU₮0) to MiniPay gives users a simple way to hedge savings against inflation by converting funds into gold with one tap. With gold prices up nearly 50% in 2025, demand for tokenized gold has risen sharply. Tether Gold, one of the most established tokenized real-world assets, continues to provide a transparent on-chain bridge to traditional stores of value.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether said:
CoinLaw’s Takeaway
In my experience, most wallet apps claim to support financial inclusion, but MiniPay is showing what real adoption looks like. Embedding stablecoins directly into a mobile browser makes the experience frictionless for users who might be touching crypto for the first time. What I found most compelling is the sheer scale. Millions of verified wallets, triple-digit growth, and meaningful transaction volumes in just a few months. That’s not just hype. That’s a product solving a real-world problem, especially in places where inflation or limited banking makes every dollar count. This is a strong step toward mainstream stablecoin utility, not just crypto speculation.
