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Finance

Tether Stops Support for Bitcoin Layer Omni Citing Lack of Demand

Omni was the first transport layer that Tether used in 2014.

By Oliver Knight
AccessTimeIconAug 17, 2023 at 12:54 p.m. UTC
Updated Aug 17, 2023 at 6:02 p.m. UTC
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Stablecoin issuer Tether said that it will discontinue support for Omni, a Bitcoin layer used for USDT transfers since 2014.

Tether will also relinquish support for Kusama (KSM) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH) SLP implementations, according to the announcement.

Omni is a software layer built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It was designed to enhance the features of the Bitcoin blockchain by providing smart contract capabilities.

"Over the years, the Omni Layer faced challenges due to the lack of popular tokens and the availability of USDT on other blockchains. This led many exchanges to favor alternative transport layers, leading to a decline in USDT usage on Bitcoin using the Omni Layer," Tether said in the announcement.

Tether is the largest stablecoin with a market cap of $82 billion, of which $240 million worth of tokens are issued on the Omni layer while $1.4 million and $980,000 are issued on Kusama and Bitcoin Cash respectively, according to Tether's transparency report.

The stablecoin provider will stop issuing USDT on Omni, Kusama and Bitcoin Cash from Aug. 17, while redemptions will continue for the next 12 months.

The price of tether has slumped by 0.12% over the past 24 hours as it trades at $0.998, according to CoinDesk data.

Edited by Aoyon Ashraf.

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CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. In November 2023, CoinDesk was acquired by the Bullish group, owner of Bullish, a regulated, digital assets exchange. The Bullish group is majority-owned by Block.one; both companies have interests in a variety of blockchain and digital asset businesses and significant holdings of digital assets, including bitcoin. CoinDesk operates as an independent subsidiary with an editorial committee to protect journalistic independence. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive options in the Bullish group as part of their compensation.

Oliver Knight
Oliver Knight

Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.

Follow @OKnightCrypto on Twitter