Tether has made a strategic investment in Shiga Digital, a fintech startup based in Abu Dhabi. The partnership aims to expand self-custodial digital asset services across Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council region.
The collaboration utilizes Tether’s open-source Wallet Development Kit to build financial infrastructure. This allows users to transact in USDT without relying on centralized custodians.
Shiga Digital, founded in 2016, offers services including virtual accounts and treasury management. Its flagship Enta wallet supports USDT, Bitcoin, and tokenized gold, using biometric authentication instead of seed phrases.
Since its inception, Shiga has processed over $350 million in transaction volumes. The company holds a DIFC Innovation License and operates through licensed financial transmitters in multiple countries.
The initiative targets markets where traditional banking is slow and costly. By using on-chain settlements, the companies aim to provide faster alternatives to standard cross-border payments that typically take three to five business days.
