STABLECOINS | Tether Expands USDT Stablecoin Use in Emerging Markets Through MiniPay After LATAM Pilot

Tether, the world’s leading stablecoin issuer, has announced the expansion of USDT and Tether Gold support within MiniPay, Opera’s self-custodial stablecoin wallet built on the Celo blockchain. The integration is aimed at increasing financial access in emerging markets by enabling users to send, receive, and hold digital dollars and tokenized gold with ease and security.

USDT, with a market capitalization well over $180 billion, remains the most widely used and trusted digital dollar globally. Its direct integration into MiniPay allows users to transact with stable value and without needing to manage complex blockchain interfaces.

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According to Opera’s latest operational data, MiniPay has grown into one of the largest self-custodial stablecoin wallets worldwide, with

• over 12.6 million activated wallets
• more than 350 million transactions, and
• an estimated 3.64 million on-chain users on the Celo blockchain.

In Q4 2025 alone, on-chain usage grew by 50%, highlighting accelerating demand across Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia.

As of December 2025, MiniPay reported 7 million phone-verified USDT wallets and saw roughly 300,000 unique USDT buyers in that month, up about 33 % month-over-month. Stablecoin transfers and peer-to-peer payments processed via MiniPay continued to scale, reinforcing dollar-denominated wallet activity in mobile-centric markets.

Recall that in November 2025, MiniPay became the first stablecoin wallet on the Celo blockchain to enable instant spending of USD₮ (Tether) across Latin America’s dominant real-time payment rails – PIX in Brazil and Mercado Pago in Argentina.


The rollout, powered by Noah, introduces MiniPay’s new “Pay like a local” feature, allowing any user – resident or traveler – to pay directly from their USD₮ balance to PIX or Mercado Pago, with merchants receiving funds in local currency in seconds. No local bank account. No residency. No cash-out step. No card failures.

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MiniPay’s African footprint – But No Specific Regional Breakdown Disclosed

MiniPay’s rapid growth has been particularly noteworthy in the Global South. Independent reporting from the Africa Tech Summit 2025 highlighted that MiniPay had surpassed approximately 5 million activations in emerging markets by early 2025. However, when asked for a breakdown of its Africa-specific user base, MiniPay declined to disclose the number of users in Africa alone, raising further speculation about the disclosures.

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Earlier milestones indicate strong adoption across African markets.

In February 2024, Opera and industry reporting noted MiniPay had crossed 1 million users across Nigeria, Kenya, and Ghana within five months of its launch in late 2023. At that time, MiniPay also declined to specify exact counts by country.

“Tether’s mission has always been to provide simple, reliable access to stable value for people who need it most,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether.

“By supporting USDT and XAU₮0 in MiniPay, we’re helping create tools that make digital assets genuinely useful, whether for sending money, saving in dollars, or protecting value in gold. Financial inclusion is not just about technology; it’s about building systems that work for everyday life.”

“Integrating USDT directly into MiniPay turns smartphone reach into real financial access,” said Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera.

“Millions of users are now holding, sending, and saving in digital dollars seamlessly, often for the first time. MiniPay brings stable, on-chain money to the people who need it most.”

Opera’s MiniPay Reportedly Hits 1 Million African Users in 5 Months

In addition to USDT, MiniPay also supports tokenized gold through Tether Gold (via XAU₮0), offering users an accessible, inflation-resistant savings option alongside stablecoins.

Notes to Readers:

• XAU₮0 is a bridged version of Tether Gold (XAU₮). It is not issued by Tether.
• MiniPay remains a non-custodial wallet that enables direct on-chain P2P stablecoin transfers, with third-party integrations facilitating additional services such as on-ramp/off-ramp and cash­-to­-crypto conversions

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