Tether has declared that it will no longer issue new tokens on Bitcoin Cash, Kusama, or the Bitcoin Omni Layer.
According to Chief Technology Officer Paolo Ardoino, users will have the ability to exchange tokens for tokens on different blockchains.
Redemptions will be available for at least one year.
Future announcements will determine the fate of redemptions after the one-year period has ended.
Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has announced that it will discontinue the issuance of its stablecoin on the Bitcoin Omni Layer, a software layer built on top of the world’s largest blockchain network. Notably, this Bitcoin (BTC) version of the USDT stablecoin was one of the first stablecoins to be created.
According to the official announcement made on August 17, the Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and Kusama (KSM) versions of the stablecoin will also be discontinued. Tether Chief Technology Officer, Paolo Ardoino, confirmed the decision and stated that holders on these blockchains will have the ability to exchange their USDT for any other supported blockchain.
Moving forward, there will be no further issuance of new Tether tokens on the Bitcoin Omni Layer, Kusama, or Bitcoin Cash. Ardoino confirmed that redemptions will remain active for at least a year to ensure the safety of all funds. Additionally, the firm will release further announcements before the end of the year regarding redemptions after the one-year period.
The Bitcoin Omni Layer has been a significant player in the cryptocurrency sector. It was launched two years before Ethereum in July 2013, initially under the name “Mastercoin.” The Omni Layer Tether was the first stablecoin to be released on the network in October 2014, quickly becoming the highest market cap stablecoin at the time, surpassing earlier stablecoins such as BitUSD and NuBits.
“We understand the significance of this decision, particularly for Omni, as it was the first transport layer that Tether used in 2014. The Omni Layer, built on top of Bitcoin, played a crucial role in Tether’s early journey, and we acknowledge the contributions and innovations the team has made to the crypto landscape,” said Tether.
According to the Tether development team, the Omni Layer “faced challenges due to the lack of popular tokens and the availability of USDT on other blockchains.”
As previously reported by BitcoinWisdom, Tether is set to release new mining software for mining machines such as WhatsMiner, AvalonMiner, and Antminer. According to CTO Ardoino, the software aims to improve the efficiency of Bitcoin mining operations.
