USDT vs USDG, what is the difference?

USDT vs USDG is a comparison of two US dollar stablecoins that do the same basic job but are built differently. USDT, often called Tether, is the older of the two and runs on many more blockchains. USDG, short for Global Dollar, launched in November 2024 and is aimed at companies that want a regulated dollar token. The key differences are the issuer, the supervisor, how reserves are reported and who earns the interest.

Who issues USDG and who issues USDT?

USDT is issued by Tether, a privately held company now based in El Salvador. Its fee page says buying or redeeming directly with Tether takes a minimum of $100,000, a $150 verification fee and a redemption fee of the greater of $1,000 or 0.1%. Most people therefore trade it on exchanges instead. More on the company is in who owns Tether.

USDG is issued by Paxos Digital Singapore, a licensed Major Payments Institution, and by a Paxos entity in Finland for the European Union. Paxos says USDG can be redeemed from Paxos one for one for US dollars. Our guide to what USDG is covers its background.

What is USDG backed by?

Paxos describes USDG reserves as cash and cash equivalent assets held in segregated accounts, apart from Paxos's own money. It publishes monthly reserve reports and attestations, and its transparency page says KPMG has been the attestor for reports posted since February 27, 2026. DBS was named the primary banking partner at launch.

Tether says USDT is fully backed by its reserves, with US Treasuries a large part, plus gold and other assets. It published quarterly attestations for years. In August 2026, Reuters reported that KPMG had issued an unqualified audit opinion on Tether's 2025 financial statements, which Tether said showed reserves exceeding liabilities by $6.8 billion. The audit itself was not made public.

Is USDG regulated, and what about USDT?

USDG is supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and, in the EU, by Finland's financial supervisor, and Paxos says it is issued in compliance with MiCA, the EU crypto rulebook.

USDT has no MiCA authorization. When the MiCA transition period ended on July 1, 2026, licensed EU exchanges stopped offering it to European users, according to The Paypers.

USDT vs USDC vs USDG, how do they differ in practice?

• Income. Paxos said at launch the Global Dollar Network would return virtually all rewards to participating partners. Partners such as exchanges get them, not every holder automatically. USDT holders get no share of Tether's reserve income.
• Networks. Tether lists USDT on 14 active chains, including Ethereum, Tron, Solana and TON. USDG is live on a smaller set, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Ink, Mantle, Robinhood Chain and X Layer.
• USDC. Circle's coin is the other big name in this group, and how it compares with Tether is covered in USDT vs USDC.

None of these coins is a bank deposit or carries deposit insurance, as of October 2026.