Stablecoin Regulation Timeline

Regulatory, enforcement and legislative events affecting Tether and the stablecoin sector. Every entry links to a primary source — a regulator, a court, a legislature, or the issuer’s own disclosure — so each one can be checked rather than taken on trust.

1. August 13, 2026 · GlobalCorporate
   Tether publishes its first financial statement audit

   KPMG US issued an unqualified audit opinion on Tether's financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, under AICPA standards — the issuer's first full financial statement audit, distinct from the quarterly attestations prepared by BDO.

   KPMG US · Tether

2. July 18, 2025 · United StatesLegislation
   GENIUS Act signed into law (P.L. 119-27)

   The Act creates a federal framework for payment stablecoins, requiring issuers to be approved by a state or federal regulator, to disclose redemption procedures, and to publish periodic reports of outstanding stablecoins and reserve composition examined by a registered public accounting firm.

   US Congress · US Congress

3. August 17, 2023 · GlobalCorporate
   USDT issuance discontinued on Omni Layer, Kusama and Bitcoin Cash SLP

   Tether stopped issuing USDT on the Omni Layer — its original transport layer from 2014 — along with Kusama and Bitcoin Cash SLP, citing declining usage, and kept redemptions open for a further twelve months.

   Tether · Tether

4. May 31, 2023 · European UnionRegulation
   MiCA enters into force

   Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 on markets in crypto-assets establishes authorisation, reserve and disclosure requirements for e-money tokens and asset-referenced tokens across the EEA.

   European Parliament and Council · EUR-Lex

5. October 15, 2021 · United StatesEnforcement
   CFTC order against Tether and Bitfinex

   The CFTC found that Tether misrepresented USDT as fully backed by fiat, holding sufficient fiat reserves on only 27.6% of days in a 26-month sample covering 2016 to 2018, and had not disclosed that reserves included unsecured receivables and non-fiat assets. Tether paid $41m of a $42.5m combined penalty.

   Penalty: $41.0M · Commodity Futures Trading Commission · US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

6. February 23, 2021 · United States (New York)Enforcement
   NYAG settlement with iFinex and Tether

   The OAG concluded that Tether's claim of one-to-one US dollar backing was false, finding that from mid-2017 Tether had no banking access anywhere in the world. Tether and Bitfinex paid $18.5m, were barred from trading with New Yorkers, and were required to report quarterly on reserves and inter-entity transfers.

   Penalty: $18.5M · New York State Office of the Attorney General · New York State Office of the Attorney General

Scope and method

• An event is listed only if it has a citable primary source. Press commentary about a rumoured action is not an event.
• Enforcement outcomes are described as what they were. The 2021 actions were settlements, not court findings of fraud.
• Spotted a missing or mis-stated event? Email editorial@tetherwiki.com. Changes are logged in the corrections log.

See also: Tether (USDT), reserves by quarter, USDT supply by chain.