Self and USA₮ today launched the first stablecoin distribution program designed to reach only verified human users. Built with Google Cloud, the program runs on Celo and gives eligible users direct access to USA₮, the U.S. dollar stablecoin issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., the first and only federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States, after verifying their identity through Self's privacy-preserving infrastructure. The launch marks the first time a U.S.-issued stablecoin has been distributed through a verified-humanity layer rather than to anonymous wallets.

Stablecoin distributions to date have been routed to wallet addresses, which has made them vulnerable to bots, duplicate-account attacks, and the kind of farming behavior that has distorted nearly every major crypto distribution event. For a U.S.-issued stablecoin issued by a federally chartered bank, and designed to meet the standards of the GENIUS Act, the ability to distribute only to verified, eligible human users is foundational. It allows compliance, reach, and privacy to coexist in a way the category has not previously achieved.

How it works

Users download the Self app and verify their identity once, using a biometric passport, government-issued national ID, India's Aadhaar, or any other supported identity document, and Self generates a cryptographic confirmation that the user is a unique human, over 18, and not a resident of an OFAC-sanctioned jurisdiction. No personal data is transmitted to Google Cloud, USA₮, or any third party––only proof of eligibility. Verified users then connect a compatible Celo wallet (Ledger, Valora, MetaMask, Rabby) and receive USA₮ directly on Celo.

USA₮ is issued by Anchorage Digital Bank, N.A., the first federally chartered digital asset bank in the United States, with reserves custodied by Cantor Fitzgerald. The stablecoin is designed to meet the standards of the GENIUS Act, the federal framework governing U.S. dollar stablecoin issuance. Its deployment on Celo brings access to one of the most active stablecoin networks in crypto, with 600K+ daily users and a network purpose-built for stablecoin payments at global scale.

"Identity is the missing layer in regulated digital finance,” said Rich Widmann, Google Cloud’s Global Head of Web3 Strategy. “Pairing Self's privacy-preserving verification with Anchorage's regulated issuance gives developers and institutions a foundation that meets compliance requirements without compromising user privacy. This is the kind of infrastructure we believe stablecoins need to operate at scale."

"The next chapter of stablecoins isn't about reaching wallets, it's about reaching people,”  said USA₮ CEO, Bo Hines. “Stablecoins have already proven that digital dollars can move globally at internet speed. This launch, developed with Self and Google Cloud, gives issuers a new way to distribute regulated digital dollars to verified users through a privacy-preserving system built for real-world scale, setting a new standard for compliant digital currency distribution.”  

"Stablecoin distribution has been broken because identity has been broken,” said Self CEO and Co-Founder Rene Reinsberg. “With Self, users can prove they're real, eligible humans without exposing any personal data––and issuers can meet compliance requirements without holding sensitive information. USA₮ is the first major issuance to operate this way."

"Celo was built for stablecoin payments that reach real people,” said Celo Core Co. CEO and Celo Co-Founder Marek Olszewski. “Hosting a federally issued, GENIUS-aligned stablecoin distributed only to verified humans is exactly the kind of use case that proves what stablecoin infrastructure can do when compliance, privacy, and access are designed in from the start."

By the numbers: 

• First federally chartered bank-issued U.S. dollar stablecoin distributed to verified humans

• Reserves custodied by Cantor Fitzgerald

• Designed to meet GENIUS Act standards

• Deployed on Celo, with 600K+ daily users

• Self verification via biometric passport, government-issued ID, or India's Aadhaar––no personal data transmitted

Users can download the Self app on the Google Play Store or iOS App Store to privately verify their identity, and visit the Google Cloud Web3 Faucet to claim USA₮.

About Self

Self is the identity layer for the agentic web, bringing privacy-first proof-of-human and identity solutions to platforms and protocols across the internet. Trusted by Google, Opera, Aave, Velodrome, and more, Self’s infrastructure is enhancing trust and verification while protecting user data privacy. Self was founded in 2025, with a mobile app available on the Google Play Store and iOS App Store. Learn more at self.xyz

About USA₮

USA₮ is a U.S.-regulated dollar-backed stablecoin that Tether, the global leader in stablecoin technology, is supporting. Purpose-built to serve the U.S. market and support American regulatory standards, USA₮ is the foundational rail for the next generation of American commerce, trade, and finance.

Tether’s support for USA₮ underscores its commitment to driving U.S. dominance and leadership in the evolving digital asset economy. As part of the broader Tether ecosystem, USA₮ will set a new benchmark in the U.S. for utility-driven stablecoins designed to deliver long-term value, strong governance, and real-world applications.

About Celo 

Celo is the leading programmable rails for global finance, and the most widely adopted blockchain for stablecoin payments. The Celo ecosystem consists of a decentralized, proof-of-stake blockchain technology stack, the CELO native token, USDC, USD₮, and USAT (all enabled as gas currencies), several Mento stable assets (USDm, EURm, BRLm, XOFm, and more), and popular infrastructure including Aave, Uniswap V3 and V4, Morpho, Curve, Velodrome, Self and Chainlink. Launched on Earth Day in 2020, the open-source Celo mainnet supports a rich ecosystem of 1,000+ projects contributing to Celo’s global mission of prosperity for all. For more about Celo, visit celo.org.