Tether and the Government of Georgia plan to launch GEL₮, an official stablecoin representing the Georgian lari, in one of the more notable government-backed efforts to move a national currency onto digital asset rails. The initiative, announced on May 25, is being positioned as part of Georgia’s broader push to build regulated digital payments infrastructure and align its stablecoin framework with emerging international standards.
Tether and Georgia Move to Launch Official GEL₮
Tether said GEL₮ is being developed with the support of the Government of Georgia as a digital representation of the Georgian lari. The company described the project as one of the first joint efforts to place a national currency directly onto digital asset rails under a purpose-built stablecoin regulatory framework. Further details on the token’s structure, rollout, and regulatory implementation have not yet been released.
The announcement comes as stablecoins continue to gain ground in payments, settlement, remittances, and cross-border transfers. Tether said its dollar-pegged USD₮ stablecoin has a market capitalization approaching $190 billion, with 24-hour trading volumes that regularly surpass traditional payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard. That scale is central to Georgia’s decision to work with the company, which Tether framed as a reflection of its experience operating digital fiat infrastructure globally.
“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. Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, added: “Stablecoins are no longer a niche financial instrument. They are becoming part of the infrastructure layer for global finance.”
Stablecoin Framework Targets Digital Lari Payments
GEL₮ is intended to support lower transaction costs, near-instant settlement, programmable payments, and more efficient movement of value across digital financial systems. The initiative is also expected to support cross-border commerce, fintech development, digital payments, and broader access to programmable financial infrastructure in Georgia and the wider region. For crypto-native firms and payment companies, the project will likely be watched as a test of how national-currency stablecoins can operate inside a formal regulatory perimeter.
The launch builds on several years of legislative and regulatory work by the Government of Georgia and the National Bank of Georgia. The framework has been designed around reserve management, redemption rights, issuer oversight, and anti-money laundering compliance, with the stated goal of providing legal clarity for digital asset businesses. Tether also said the framework has been designed to achieve substantive compatibility with emerging U.S. stablecoin regulation, including the GENIUS Act.
“The National Bank of Georgia welcomes collaboration with global innovators like Tether as part of its broader strategy to advance secure, modern, and internationally aligned digital financial infrastructure,” said Natia Turnava, President of the National Bank of Georgia. Vakhtang Turnava, a Member of the Parliament of Georgia, said: “In partnership with Tether, the global leader in digital assets and stablecoin innovation, Georgia has the opportunity to become a strategic bridge between traditional finance and the digital economy of the future.”
The GEL₮ plan places Georgia among a small group of jurisdictions seeking to connect national-currency payment systems with regulated stablecoin infrastructure. The key details still to come are the token’s reserve model, redemption mechanics, issuer structure, compliance controls, and launch timeline. Until those are published, the announcement marks a policy and infrastructure commitment rather than a fully specified product rollout.
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