Crypto02 October, 20262 min read
Tether Issues USDT On Bitcoin Network Again This Month, Led By Utexo
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USDT will be issued again on the Bitcoin network this month led by Utexo. Utexo secured a commercial license to issue Bitcoin-based USDT and enable BTC-USDT swaps.
USDT Returns to Bitcoin
Tether is set to issue USDT on the Bitcoin network again this month, with the return being led by Utexo, an infrastructure project backed by Tether. Utexo secured a commercial license from Tether to issue USDT on the Bitcoin network and plans to provide APIs, SDKs, and cloud-based infrastructure to exchanges, wallets, and payment service providers.
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino wrote on X, "It's coming home.", framing the relaunch as a return to Bitcoin. Utexo co-founder Viktor Ihnatiuk told CoinDesk, "Tether has always been a Bitcoin company," and added that "Bitcoin is a safe haven for Tether, along with gold."
RGB Privacy and UTXOs
Utexo said it will implement USDT on Bitcoin in a fundamentally different way from Ethereum or Tron by leveraging client-side validation from the RGB protocol to keep most transaction data off Bitcoin's public ledger. Utexo said the Bitcoin ledger will be used solely for cryptographically proving ownership, while the parties involved check the data themselves so most transaction information never lands on the public blockchain.
Utexo highlighted three use cases including privacy-preserving USDT transfers, direct swaps between native Bitcoin and USDT without going through an exchange, and lending collateralized by native Bitcoin without wrapping it onto another blockchain. Utexo said it cannot technically freeze assets the way it does by freezing Ethereum addresses, and it instead manages a blacklist of UTXOs associated with sanctioned entities or illicit activity.
Lightning Next, Market Stakes
Utexo said once USDT issuance begins on Bitcoin, its next step is expansion to the Lightning Network, aiming for USDT to serve as the fee (gas) payment token on Lightning. BigGo Finance said stablecoin infrastructure within the Bitcoin ecosystem has been relatively underdeveloped, and it said Bitcoin holders would be able to access stablecoin transactions and lending without moving their assets to other chains.
Crypto Briefing said the relaunch is planned for October 2026 through Utexo, and it said the initial launch is planned for Bitcoin's mainnet with Lightning support expected to follow later. Crypto Briefing said Utexo's approach to compliance uses a blacklist of UTXOs linked to illicit activity, and it contrasted that with freezes on account-based chains where an entire address gets locked.