Tether's USDT Stablecoin Returns to Bitcoin Roots

Tether's USDT stablecoin is coming back to its roots on the Bitcoin network, over a decade after its debut in 2014. According to Utexo, the infrastructure project backed by Tether, the largest stablecoin with a market cap of nearly $190 billion will return to the Bitcoin network this month. Utexo has been granted the commercial license to issue USDT on Bitcoin, using the stablecoin's trademark to bring it to exchanges, wallets, and payment providers.

Utexo's co-founder Viktor Ihnatiuk stated that 'Tether has always been a Bitcoin company,' and that Bitcoin is a stability haven, along with gold. He added that it's their job to make USDT as accessible on Bitcoin as it is everywhere else. Tether holds around 100,000 BTC ($8.4 billion) as of mid-August this year, according to Bitcoin Treasuries.

Utexo's architecture for USDT on Bitcoin is designed to be more confidential than its equivalent on Ethereum or Tron. The RGB protocol will employ client-site validation to keep transaction data largely off Bitcoin's public ledger, with ownership anchored in unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs). This approach combines client-side validation with Bitcoin's UTXO model, keeping transaction details entirely off-chain between counterparties involved.