Tether Will Launch An ‘Official’ Stablecoin In Georgia Tied To Local Currency
The new cryptocurrency will be called GELT and will represent the Georgian lari.
Tether announced the launch of a cryptocurrency called GELT, linked to the official currency of the country, Georgia. The company behind USDT, a stablecoin that maintains a 1:1 value with the US dollar, said in a press release that it is one of the first joint efforts combining a national currency with a purpose-built stablecoin. Unlike most cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are tied to a currency officially issued by a government. In this case, GELT will be linked to the Georgian lari and will have the support of the Georgian government.
According to Tether, GELT will be a “digital representation of the Georgian lari” that will enable “lower transaction costs, near-instant settlement, programmable payments” and much more. Tether said it worked for several years alongside the country’s legislative and regulatory bodies, as well as the National Bank of Georgia, to establish the stablecoin.
Although stablecoins are designed to be more fixed than other cryptocurrencies whose values fluctuate, they have always faced increased scrutiny from U.S. regulators before. Before Tether established the GELT coin, Kyrgyzstan launched its own state-sponsored stablecoin called USDKG in November, which is pegged to the US dollar and backed by gold. As for GELT, Tether said that more details on the structure, deployment and implementation of the stablecoin will be announced later.
