Tether and the Government of Georgia to launch GEL₮, the official stablecoin of Georgia

Tether, the largest company in the digital-asset ecosystem, has announced plans to launch GEL₮, a stablecoin representing the Georgian Lari, with the support of the Government of Georgia. It is one of the first joint efforts to place a national currency directly onto digital-asset rails under a purpose-built stablecoin regulatory framework.

GEL₮ is designed to function as a digital representation of the lari — enabling lower transaction costs, near-instant settlement, programmable payments, and more efficient movement of value across digital financial systems. The initiative is expected to support cross-border commerce, fintech development, digital payments, and broader access to programmable financial infrastructure throughout Georgia and the wider region.

The announcement builds on several years of legislative and regulatory work by the Government and the National Bank of Georgia to establish one of the most advanced digital-asset frameworks in the region — a structure designed to attract digital-asset businesses through legal clarity rather than regulatory ambiguity, with global standards around reserve management, redemption rights, issuer oversight, and AML compliance in mind.

Notably, Georgia's framework has been designed to achieve substantive compatibility with emerging U.S. stablecoin regulation, including the GENIUS Act — positioning the country among the earliest seeking direct regulatory interoperability with the evolving U.S. digital-asset framework.

"Together with visionary partners like Tether, Georgia is laying the foundations for a more connected, transparent, and digitally empowered financial world," said Irakli Kobakhidze, Prime Minister of Georgia.

"Stablecoins are no longer a niche financial instrument. They are becoming part of the infrastructure layer for global finance," said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. "Georgia has moved early to create serious regulatory architecture for digital assets and stablecoins, and that clarity creates the foundation for real innovation and adoption."

Georgia has already emerged as one of the more advanced jurisdictions for digital-asset payments, including the ability to make tax payments by instantly converting digital assets into local currency. Further details on GEL₮'s structure, rollout, and regulatory implementation will be announced at a later stage.

For builders in the Superteam Georgia community, a regulated, lari-denominated stablecoin is a foundational primitive — the kind of rail payments, commerce, and consumer apps can be built directly on top of, right here at home.