Tether’s flagship stablecoin, USDT, has received a major regulatory endorsement in the Middle East, securing recognition as an Accepted Fiat-Referenced Token (AFRT) across numerous major blockchains within the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM).
The move, announced by Tether on Monday, significantly expands the token’s operational scope within the UAE’s international financial center. The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) now permits licensed institutions within the zone to conduct regulated activities involving USDT on an array of new networks, including Aptos, Celo, Cosmos, Kaia, Near, Polkadot, Tezos, TON, and TRON.
This approval builds on earlier regulatory recognition for USDT issued on Ethereum, Solana, and Avalanche, establishing a multi-chain foundation intended to enhance liquidity, interoperability, and utility for trading and decentralized finance (DeFi) within the ADGM.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, stated that the recognition “reinforces the role of stablecoins as essential components of today’s financial landscape” and “further strengthens Abu Dhabi’s position as a global hub for compliant digital finance.”
The ADGM, which operates under its own legal and regulatory framework as a special economic zone, is aggressively positioning itself as a leader in digital asset regulation.
The recognition for Tether comes on the heels of another major announcement from the crypto industry: Binance has secured full authorization to operate its global platform, Binance.com, under the ADGM framework.
Binance’s approval covers three separately licensed entities—an exchange, a clearing house, and a broker-dealer—mirroring traditional financial-market architecture and bringing its core global operations under the ADGM’s “gold standard” regulatory framework.
Binance Co-CEO Richard Teng praised the ADGM for its comprehensive standards, adding that the license provides “regulatory clarity and legitimacy” for the exchange’s global operations. Subject to final preparations, Binance.com is set to begin its ADGM-regulated activities on January 5, 2026.
Both Tether’s multi-chain expansion and Binance’s full authorization underscore Abu Dhabi’s strategic effort to become a leading global center for regulated digital finance and institutional crypto adoption.
