Provider profile · 2026 edition
Tether (USDT) review 2026: scores, reserves and alternatives.
Tether issues USDT from El Salvador under that country's stablecoin issuer rules.
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Tether issues USDT from El Salvador under that country's stablecoin issuer rules.
Tether (USDT) scores 3.5 out of 5 (71 out of 100) in the Buckingham Intelligence Stablecoin Issuers Index 2026 and ranks 3 of 11. It is strongest for exchanges and large traders needing the most widely held dollar stablecoin, with 5 out of 5 for published fees. Its lowest criterion score is reserves at 2 out of 5.
Scores from the Stablecoin Issuers Index 2026.
| Segment | Score out of 100 | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| For payment and e-money firms | 73 | 3 of 11 |
| For exchanges and brokers | 73 | 2 of 11 |
| For corporate treasuries | 68 | 3 of 11 |
The score out of 5 is the overall score out of 100 divided by 20. Leader goes to the top three overall, Best for to the first in each segment, and Top rated for to a score of 5 out of 5 on a criterion. Awards cannot be bought.
Where it scores best, and where to check closely, as shown in each ranking.
Exchanges and large traders needing the most widely held dollar stablecoin.
What Tether (USDT) publishes on its own pages, read on 26 October 2026.
Tether issues USDT from El Salvador under that country's stablecoin issuer rules. It publishes the only full mint and redemption fee table in this edition, quarterly reserve attestations by BDO and a KPMG audit of its 2025 financial statements. Its minimum of $100,000 per transaction and its reserve mix, which includes gold and secured loans, set it apart from bank and Treasury-backed issuers.
| Fact | What the provider publishes |
|---|---|
| Reserves | Transparency page: tokens "backed 100% by Tether's Reserves"; circulation "typically published daily". Q2 2026 report: reserves "centered on short-duration, high-quality liquid assets", reserves exceeded liabilities by about $4.11 billion, secured lending exposure reduced by about $2.38 billion, gold holdings above 146 tons. |
| Independent assurance | Q2 2026 attestation "prepared by BDO, a top-five global independent accounting firm" (published 31 July 2026). 13 August 2026: "KPMG U.S. issues unqualified audit opinion on Tether's 2025 financial statements." |
| Regulatory standing | Terms: "Tether has obtained authorisation as a Stablecoin Issuer and Digital Assets Service Provider under the El Salvador Regulations for Issuance of Stablecoin Public Offerings", supervised by the National Commission of Digital Assets. Issuer: Tether International, S.A. de C.V. |
| Redemption | Fees page: "Minimum Tether Token acquisition or redemption amount 100,000 USD". Verified accounts only; Tether "maintains the sole discretion to approve or not approve accounts". "Withdrawal requests for digital tokens held by Tether are evaluated per request and can take several days to process." |
| Published fees | Fees page: redemption fee "The greater of $1,000 or 0.1%"; acquisition fee "0.1%"; verification fee "150 USD in Tether Tokens", non-refundable. |
| Currencies and networks | Supported protocols page lists Ethereum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Cosmos (via Kava), Celo, Kaia, Tron, Liquid, Solana, Polkadot AssetHub, Tezos, Near, Ton and Aptos. Redemption of CNH₮ ends 20 February 2027; EUR₮ wound down. |
| Date read | 26 October 2026 |
Nothing in this profile is marked as not published or not stated on the pages read.
A fact that is not published is scored as not offered or, for a fee, as if it were high. It is never estimated.
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: tether.to/en/transparency, tether.to/en/fees, tether.to/en/legal, tether.to/en/supported-protocols, tether.io/news/…, tether.io/news/….
Each score with the evidence behind it.
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in the Stablecoin Issuers Index. 0 means not offered or not published. How it is scored
The other providers in the same ranking, ordered by score.
| Provider | Score out of 5 | Rank | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Circle (USDC and EURC) | 4.3 | 1 of 11 | Payment firms and exchanges needing the widest licensing and network coverage |
| Paxos (USDG, USDP and PYUSD) | 3.6 | 2 of 11 | Payment firms wanting free redemption and a Big Four attestation |
| Agora (AUSD) | 3.3 | 4 of 11 | Fintechs and platforms wanting fee-free minting and a share of reserve income |
| Gemini (GUSD) | 3.1 | 5 of 11 | Firms already on Gemini wanting fee-free conversion and named reserve banks |
| StraitsX (XSGD, XUSD and XIDR) | 2.8 | 6 of 11 | Payment firms in Southeast Asia needing a Singapore dollar stablecoin |
| Quantoz (EURQ and USDQ) | 2.7 | 7 of 11 | European firms wanting free direct redemption without an existing account |
| Societe Generale-Forge (EURCV and USDCV) | 2.5 | 8 of 11 | European banks and institutions wanting a bank-group issuer with daily reserve disclosure |
| AllUnity (EURAU, CHFAU, SEKAU and USDAU) | 2.4 | 9 of 11 | European corporates wanting a no-code mint account and several currencies |
| Ripple (RLUSD) | 2.4 | 10 of 11 | Banks and brokers wanting a New York trust issuer |
| Monerium (EURe and GBPe) | 1.9 | 11 of 11 | Fintechs and wallets needing euro tokens linked to a named IBAN |
Side by side on every criterion, fact and award.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.