February 3 News, the stablecoin giant Tether announced a partnership with MiniPay, a self-custody wallet under Opera, further expanding the use cases of USDT and Tether Gold (XAU₮) in emerging markets. Following the announcement, Opera’s stock price surged nearly 18% intraday and closed with a double-digit gain, demonstrating strong market recognition for this crypto payment initiative.
According to the announcement, MiniPay users can now send, receive, and hold USDT directly, as well as convert some of their balances into XAU₮ as a digital gold hedge against inflation and local currency depreciation. MiniPay operates on the Celo blockchain and primarily targets mobile-first regions such as Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. In Q4 2025 alone, user growth in these regions reached 50%.
Currently, MiniPay covers 60 countries with approximately 12.6 million active wallets. Since introducing USDT in 2024, demand has continued to rise, and by December 2025, over 7 million USDT wallets verified via mobile phone had been accumulated. In December alone, users completed over 96 million USDT transfers and 3.5 million P2P payments, demonstrating the strong appeal of stablecoins in cross-border remittances and digital savings scenarios.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino stated that the goal of this partnership is to provide a more convenient entry point for people who truly need stable value tools, whether for daily payments, dollarized savings, or long-term value preservation through tokenized gold. Jørgen Arnesen, Vice President of Opera’s mobile business, also noted that many users are experiencing “digital dollars” on-chain for the first time, which is significant for improving financial inclusion.
As Opera continues to integrate Web3 features into its core products—from stablecoin wallets to decentralized app gateways and savings and exchange tools—this partnership is seen as a crucial step toward mainstream adoption of digital assets.
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