Tether and Shiga have announced plans to launch self-custody wallets for USD₮, Bitcoin, and Tether Gold for individuals and institutions in Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region.
- Shiga plans to launch two products: ENTA for individuals and businesses, and Pulse for banks and fintech companies.
- Users will be able to fund their ENTA wallet with local currency, US dollars, or Bitcoin.
- Institutional clients can use infrastructure hosted by Shiga or run wallet software in their own environment.
- Shiga stated that its Nigerian digital asset intermediary license is still pending final approval.
In its announcement on September 28, Tether stated that both products will utilize its open-source Wallet Development Kit (WDK). Shiga will offer one product directly to users and another to institutions building payment and funds management services for their clients.
This initiative builds on the partnership established between the two parties in June 2025, when Tether invested in Shiga Digital. crypto.news reported on this investment at the time, as well as Shiga’s existing services for African businesses, including virtual accounts, foreign exchange, fund management, and over-the-counter trading.
Shiga's ENTA will place three assets into the user-controlled wallet.
Under the new program, ENTA will be available to individuals, high-net-worth users, and businesses. Tether stated that customers can deposit using local currency, USD, or Bitcoin, and then hold and transfer USD₮, Bitcoin, and XAU₮ through self-custody wallets.
Deposit options play a different role from the assets held in the wallet. For example, if a customer deposits local currency, it will be used to acquire supported digital assets; the announcement does not state that ENTA will hold local currency as a wallet asset. Tether has also not provided the launch date, the initial list of countries where ENTA will be available, or the fees customers will need to pay.
As Shiga focuses on cross-border transfers, remittance costs in the region remain high. According to the World Bank’s Remittance Prices Worldwide report, the average cost of sending money to Sub-Saharan Africa in the third quarter of 2025 was 8.46%, the highest average among all regions tracked. Neither Tether nor Shiga has provided comparable cost estimates for transfers via ENTA.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said that WDK will enable businesses to build products where users retain control of their assets.
"With Shiga, we are bringing this infrastructure to markets where people and businesses face real challenges in safeguarding their savings and transferring funds across borders," said Ardoino.
This three-asset solution enables clients to gain exposure to USD-pegged tokens, Bitcoin, and tokenized gold within the proposed product. Tether has also partnered with Opera to launch MiniPay, another self-custodial wallet serving markets including Africa. According to a company announcement reported by crypto.news, in February this year, MiniPay was expanded to include access to USD₮ and tokenized gold.
Pulse will allow institutions to choose where the software runs.
For banks, fintech companies, and other institutional clients, Shiga plans to position Pulse as a platform that can be customized according to payment channels, fund management, and settlement processes. CEO Abiola Shogbeni said the company tailors its product to each institution’s operations rather than offering the same wallet interface to all clients.
Tether stated that institutions will have two deployment options: they can use the WDK infrastructure managed by Shiga, or run it in their own environment while retaining control over keys, data, and funds. The second option is designed for clients with specific requirements regarding where their data is stored and who controls the systems used to sign transactions.
WDK provides the underlying wallet software for ENTA and Pulse. Tether states that with a single integration, Shiga can support the blockchain networks offered by this toolkit. Tether describes WDK as an open-source infrastructure for building self-custody wallets, supporting assets including Bitcoin, USD₮, and XAU₮.
This institutional product is intended for the Africa–Gulf Cooperation Council corridor, but Tether has not named any banks or fintech companies that have agreed to deploy Pulse. The announcement also does not specify the initial payment channels or transaction volumes for either product.
In the Gulf region, XAU₮ has been granted a specific regulatory status by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). In July, ADGM recognized XAU₮ as an Accepted Spot Commodity. This status permits companies approved by the relevant ADGM authorities to offer services involving this token; however, it does not imply automatic approval for every company within Shiga or the financial center.
The Nigeria license is still under review.
Shiga’s Chief Operating Officer, Dami Etomi, said the company is in the final stages of obtaining Nigeria’s digital asset intermediary license. If approved, the license would authorize Shiga to provide regulated digital asset trading, brokerage, and custody services to individuals and institutions in the country. Shiga has not indicated that it currently holds this license.
Etomi also stated that Shiga will operate ENTA on its platform for institutional clients. As a result, potential Pulse customers will be able to view a live Shiga product built on the underlying infrastructure, although the company has not yet disclosed when ENTA will launch.
For U.S. readers, this announcement concerns products planned for launch in Africa and the GCC region; no services are being offered in the United States. The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s August proposed rulemaking separately outlines when U.S. digital asset service providers may offer payment stablecoins issued abroad. Tether and Shiga have not specified the accessibility of the proposed products in the United States or how they would be treated under this proposal.