GoKawiilTether announced it will launch a cryptocurrency called GELT that's tied to the official currency of the country of Georgia. The company behind the USDT, a stablecoin that maintains a 1:1 value with the US dollar, said in a press release that this is one of the first joint efforts that pairs a national currency with a purpose-built stablecoin. Unlike most cryptocurrency, stablecoins are tied to a currency that's officially issued by a government. In this case, GELT will be tied to the Georgian Lari and has support from the Georgian government.
According to Tether, the GELT will be a "digital representation of the Georgian Lari" that allows for "lower transaction costs, near-instant settlement, programmable payments" and more. Tether said that it worked for several years alongside the country's legislature and regulatory bodies, as well as the National Bank of Georgia, to establish the stablecoin.
While stablecoins are designed to be more fixed than other cryptocurrencies with fluctuating values, they've still faced scrutiny from US regulators before. Prior to Tether establishing the GELT coin, Kyrgyzstan launched its own state-sponsored stablecoin called the USDKG in November, which is tied to the US dollar and backed by gold. As for GELT, Tether said more details on the stablecoin's structure, rollout and implementation will be announced later.