Tether announced on Friday that it will stop redemptions for USDt (USDT) on five legacy blockchains starting September 1. This change impacts users on the Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS (now Vaulta), and Algorand networks. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, stated, “Sunsetting support for these legacy chains allows us to focus on platforms that offer greater scalability, developer activity, and community engagement. ” The phase-out of these blockchains has been planned for a while. In August 2023, Tether declared it would cease issuing USDt on the Omni Layer, Kusama, and Bitcoin Cash SLP. Then, in June 2024, minting was halted on EOS and Algorand. USDt remains the largest stablecoin in circulation with a market cap of $139. 4 billion, according to Cointelegraph indexes.

A look at USDt balances on the affected chains reveals that the Omni Layer holds $82. 9 million in net circulation, while Bitcoin Cash SLP has $986, 500, Kusama $240, 000, EOS $4. 2 million, and Algorand $841, 600. Related: Many expect stablecoins to surge to $2 trillion within a few years, says Ripple CEO. Algorand users ‘should experience no disruption’ DefiLlama data shows USDt as the third-most popular stablecoin on Algorand. The leading stablecoin on this blockchain is USD Coin (USDC), issued by Circle, Tether’s main competitor, with a market cap nearly $73 million higher than USDt on Algorand. A representative from the Algorand Foundation told Cointelegraph, “Our users should experience no disruption since Tether decided last year to stop offering Tether on Algorand. They gave customers one year to finish redemptions, and stablecoin volumes on Algorand have grown during that time. ” Token Terminal reports Algorand generated $42, 300 in revenue over the past 30 days, primarily through transaction fees typical of blockchain companies. Tether noted that discontinuing support for at least the Omni Layer was due to minimal USDt usage on that network.