By cryptoadmin 
Browser maker Opera’s shares surged more than 17% after the opening bell after the company announced it’s expanding support for Tether’s $USDT stablecoin and tether gold (XAUT0) in its self-custodial crypto wallet MiniPay.
The move brings broader access to dollar-backed and gold-backed cryptocurrencies for millions of users in emerging markets.
Shares of Opera (OPRA) slid over the past week to a $12.40 low before the announcement helped them surge to stand at $14.65. MiniPay, which the company says has 12.6 million activated wallets, will now allow users to use these tokens “without navigating the complexities of the blockchain.”
The wallet, which boasts more than 3.64 million onchain users, processed over $153 million in stablecoin transactions in December alone, according to Opera.
MiniPay is not a financial service itself but connects users to on- and off-ramp providers like Binance, Partna and Fonbank, helping bridge fiat and crypto economies. Last year, the company rolled out a “Pay like a local” feature, allowing users to pay in Argentina using Mercado Pago and in Brazil using Pix, the instant payment systems of each country
Since then, the feature has expanded to include instant SEPA payments in Europe and instant bank transfers in Nigeria.
Tether earlier this month reported it made over $10 billion in net profit for 2025, driven by the growth in its $USDT stablecoin and its underlying U.S. Treasury holdings. The firm has been buying up to $1 billion of gold per month as it bets on the precious metal alongside BTC.