"Authorized but not issued" Tether tokens are tokens created on the blockchain and stored in Tether's vault. Since these tokens are not yet in circulation, they are not included in the total market value of the corresponding Tether tokens.
"Issued" Tether tokens are tokens that have been authorized and actually in circulation, including tokens sold and issued to Tether customers. "Issued" Tether tokens are fully backed by Tether's reserves.
