Tether has partnered with Opera MiniPay wallet to expand access for USDt and Tether Gold XAU₮ across emerging markets. Opera shares have rallied nearly 18% since the partnership was announced.

According to a Feb. 2 announcement, MiniPay wallet users are now able to “send, receive, and hold” USDt while also being able to “convert part of their balance into XAUt0” to protect against inflation and currency volatility.

MiniPay wallet is Opera’s self-custodial wallet that operates on the Celo blockchain and targets users in mobile-first regions like Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia, where it has recorded 50% growth in Q4 2025 alone, the announcement said.

MiniPay is available across both Android and iOS and claims to be live in 60 countries with 12.6 million activated wallets.

“Tether’s mission has always been to provide simple, reliable access to stable value for people who need it most,” Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in an accompanying statement.

“By supporting USDt and XAUt0 in MiniPay, we’re helping create tools that make digital assets genuinely useful, whether for sending money, saving in dollars, or protecting value in gold.”

MiniPay wallet first added USDt support in July 2024 as a part of the MiniPay V2 update, which introduced Pockets, a stablecoin swap feature powered by the Mento protocol, which allowed users to swap between cUSD, USDT, and USDC using a drag-and-drop motion.

Since then, the wallet has witnessed increased demand for USDt and, as of December 2025, housed more than 7 million phone-verified USDt wallets. According to Tether, MiniPay users processed more than 96 million USDt transfers in December alone, alongside 3.5 million peer-to-peer payments.

“Millions of users are now holding, sending, and saving in digital dollars seamlessly, often for the first time. MiniPay brings stable, on-chain money to the people who need it most,” Jørgen Arnesen, EVP Mobile at Opera, was quoted as saying.

Now, MiniPay users also have access to Tether tokenized gold XAUT, which will offer an “inflation-resistant savings option,” the announcement said.

Opera shares rally

Opera stocks climbed as much as 18% before closing Feb. 2 with gains of a little over 13.5% and another 3.55% in after-market trading.

Over the past years, the company has continued to expand its core web browser offering with several Web3 features that span from integrated stablecoin wallets to access for decentralized applications and savings tools.