USDT Returns to Bitcoin Network After 12-Year Absence

Tether's USDT stablecoin is returning to the Bitcoin network after a 12-year absence. The move, led by Utexo, an infrastructure project backed by Tether, will allow for the issuance of USDT on the Bitcoin network again.

Utexo has secured a commercial license from Tether and plans to provide APIs, SDKs, and cloud-based infrastructure to exchanges, wallets, and payment service providers. This is seen as a significant development in the stablecoin market, with USDT commanding a significant market capitalization of approximately $190 billion.

Utexo's architecture keeps transaction details entirely off-chain between counterparties, using client-side validation from the RGB protocol to anchor ownership to unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs). This approach has several benefits, including privacy-preserving USDT transfers and direct swaps between native Bitcoin and USDT without going through an exchange.

However, some observers note that the initial user experience may be limited until expansion to the Lightning Network is complete. Utexo aims to address this by providing faster and cheaper payments on Bitcoin.