USDT Faces Two-Year U.S. Compliance Countdown

The GENIUS Act, signed into law on July 18, 2025, created the first U.S. federal framework for payment stablecoins. It requires qualified issuers to meet standards covering reserves, redemption, disclosures, anti-money-laundering controls and sanctions compliance. Foreign issuers such as Tether must operate under a comparable regulatory regime recognized by the U.S. Treasury and satisfy federal registration requirements to keep their tokens available through American platforms.

The law’s first anniversary leaves Tether about two years before a three-year transition period expires on July 18, 2028. After that date, U.S. exchanges, custodians and other digital-asset service providers generally cannot offer stablecoins from unapproved issuers. USDT could therefore face delisting unless Tether secures compliant foreign-issuer status or restructures its U.S. strategy. Federal agencies have yet to complete the implementing rules, leaving key compliance details unresolved.