The Government of Georgia has partnered with El Salvador-based stablecoin issuer Tether to launch a Georgian Lari stablecoin, GELT.
In a statement announcing the partnership, Tether says that GELT will support cross-border commerce with near-instant digital payments and “lower transaction costs”. The statement continues that the stablecoin will provide “broader access to programmable financial infrastructure throughout Georgia and the wider region”.
The government’s partnership with Tether expands Georgia’s digital asset offering in the country, which Tether states has undergone “several years of legislative and regulatory work by the government and the National Bank of Georgia”.
For example, in April this year, the government updated its virtual assets service provider (VASP) regulation. Both individuals and businesses will now need to be more transparent about the origin of their crypto assets for the funds to be processed and used legally. Furthermore, VASPs must now be registered with the National Bank of Georgia.
Commenting on Georgia’s digital asset framework, Tether states that it has been “designed to achieve substantive compatibility with emerging US stablecoin regulation, including the GENIUS Act”.
The stablecoin issuer concludes: “Further details regarding GELT’s structure, rollout, and regulatory implementation will be announced at a later stage.”
Since the 2014 launch of its debut stablecoin offering, USDT, Tether has debuted a number of stablecoins pegged against national currencies, including a Mexican Peso-pegged coin and a British Pound Sterling-pegged coin – both launched in 2022.
Two of the stablecoins have since been discontinued. In 2016, the company launched a stablecoin pegged to the Euro, but shelved the project eight years later, citing “the evolving regulatory frameworks surrounding stablecoins in the European market”.
Similarly, in 2019, Tether launched an offshore Chinese Yuan stablecoin called CNHT. Tether ceased all new issuances of CNHT in February this year, with “low interest in the product and limited sustained community demand for CNHT” identified as drivers of the decision.