Tether launches self-custody wallet: featuring "gas-free design," readable addresses, supporting 4 cryptocurrencies in the first wave

Author: Max, Crypto City

From behind the scenes to the forefront, Tether launches “The People’s Wallet” to realize the vision of inclusive finance
The world’s leading stablecoin company, Tether, announced yesterday (4/14) the official launch of its native self-custody digital wallet application tether.wallet. This move signifies that the company, which has long played a behind-the-scenes role in blockchain infrastructure, is stepping into the consumer application market.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that over 570 million people worldwide are currently using Tether’s technology. With the launch of tether.wallet, the company will deliver these robust financial infrastructures directly into end users’ hands.
Over the past decade, Tether has primarily provided liquidity and settlement services behind the scenes for more than 160 countries globally, especially targeting developing nations lacking traditional banking services or experiencing high inflation. Ardoino defines this new product as “The People’s Wallet,” emphasizing its original intent to make access to and use of digital assets more user-friendly.

Image source: Tether ｜ Tether officially launches its native self-custody digital wallet application tether.wallet

The development of digital assets has now reached a new milestone. Tether aims to eliminate the long-standing complexity that has hindered mass adoption of cryptocurrencies, while preserving the core value of digital assets. This wallet not only serves human users but also prepares for the potential emergence of hundreds of billions of autonomous machines and trillions of AI agents, enabling seamless transactions at the speed of light. With the launch of this application, Tether is evolving from a foundational clearing protocol into a full-fledged financial services platform, allowing users worldwide to fully control their assets without intermediaries.

Account simplification and fee mechanism innovation, technological breakthroughs to reduce transfer friction
To enhance user experience, tether.wallet introduces several significant technological innovations to address the “friction” problem that confuses many newcomers in blockchain operations.
First, the system abandons the traditional blockchain’s lengthy and error-prone hexadecimal string addresses, replacing them with human-readable identifiers, such as “[email protected]”. Users can directly transfer assets using these simple names, greatly reducing the risk of irreversible errors caused by manual input or pasting addresses. This design makes digital asset transfers as intuitive as sending emails or messages, aligning with everyday user habits.

Image source: Tether ｜ tether.wallet abandons the traditional lengthy and error-prone hexadecimal string addresses, adopting the “[email protected]” format

Additionally, the wallet addresses the pain point of paying transaction fees. In most decentralized finance (DeFi) scenarios, users must hold the network’s native tokens (such as ETH or $POL) to pay for gas fees before transferring stablecoins, which is a high barrier for many newcomers. tether.wallet allows users to pay network fees directly with the assets they are sending. When transferring $USDT , the system deducts an equivalent amount of $USDT from the transaction amount as a fee. This mechanism frees users from the burden of purchasing and reserving multiple network tokens, truly enabling the free flow of a single asset.

Selected assets support cross-chain transfers, open-source WDK toolkit links AI trading visions
In terms of asset support, tether.wallet adopts a strategy of offering a few high-value assets.
The initial support list includes Tether’s flagship stablecoin $USDT , developed for the US market $USAT , the token anchored to physical gold $XAUT , and Bitcoin ($BTC). In terms of blockchain network coverage, the wallet currently integrates Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, and Tether’s Plasma network. For Bitcoin support, in addition to traditional on-chain transactions, it also fully integrates the Lightning Network, ensuring users can perform instant, low-cost small payments.
Tether states that after the initial release, support for more mainstream blockchains will continue to be added.
The technical foundation of this wallet is Tether’s open-source Wallet Development Kit (WDK). This modular toolkit not only supports human users but also makes it easier for developers, financial institutions, and AI agents to build self-custody digital asset wallets without relying on centralized service providers.
In January this year, the video platform Rumble was the first to utilize this development kit to integrate $USDT and Bitcoin payment functions. Tether is committed to building an open and neutral financial system, enabling the digital economy to operate across different devices and platforms, and playing a core role in future intelligent trading environments.

• Related news: No bank needed to receive money! Tether partners with video platform Rumble to launch an integrated crypto wallet

Upholding self-custody security, Tether consolidates stablecoin retail payment dominance
Security and autonomy are core principles of tether.wallet. The wallet adopts a fully self-custody model, meaning private keys and seed phrases are always controlled by the user. All transaction signing actions are completed locally on the user’s device, and Tether cannot access the user’s funds.
Moreover, the wallet offers cloud key backup options. While this has sparked discussions within the community about security balance, Tether emphasizes that its design goal is to maintain the advantages of self-custody while providing a simpler asset recovery method.
Tether CEO stressed that the financial system should be open and free from intermediary interference. tether.wallet embodies the spirit of returning asset control to users.
According to data from DefiLlama, the market size of $USDT has already surpassed $184 billion, accounting for about 58% of the approximately $317 billion stablecoin market.

Image source: DefiLlama ｜ Tether holds about 58% of the stablecoin market share

With the launch of this wallet, Tether will directly compete with existing market players like MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Phantom. Additionally, Tether has been active recently, including developing the QVAC SDK designed for device-side AI, and successfully listing its gold-backed token $XAUT on BNB Chain amid a 64% increase in gold prices by 2025.
By Q3 2025, Tether’s physical gold holdings will reach 116 tons, making it one of the largest non-sovereign gold holders worldwide. By combining stable value-backed assets with convenient retail tools, Tether is strategically positioning itself for the future of digital payments.