Tether Launches Self-Custodial Multichain Wallet Using Open-Source WDK

Gate News, April 14 — Tether unveiled a self-custodial crypto wallet today, built on its open-source Wallet Development Kit (WDK). The wallet supports USDT, USAT, Bitcoin, and XAUT, which Tether describes as "the only assets that truly matter for most of the people."

Dubbed the "People's Wallet," the initiative aims to promote financial inclusion globally, particularly in developing countries and high-inflation regions. CEO Paolo Ardoino stated the goal is to "remove the complexity that has prevented broader adoption while preserving the properties that make the digital assets technology valuable," allowing users to "send value as easily as sending a message" without intermediaries.

Key features include the ability to pay transaction fees in the asset being transferred, eliminating the need to hold separate tokens for gas. The wallet also supports human-readable addresses that resemble email formats instead of typical alphanumeric strings.

At launch, the wallet supports USDT and XAUT on Ethereum, Polygon, Plasma, and Arbitrum; USAT on Ethereum; and Bitcoin both natively and via the Lightning Network. Tether plans to add support for additional blockchains in the future. Last month, the company announced it had engaged a Big Four accounting firm for its first independent financial statement audit.