Tether Revises USDT Freeze Plan for Legacy Blockchains
Tether, the issuer of the popular stablecoin USDT, has announced a significant revision to its transition plan for legacy blockchains. The company had initially planned to freeze USDT on certain blockchains, including Omni, BCH SLP, Kusama, EOS, and Algorand, starting from September 1, 2025. However, after receiving extensive feedback from the user community, Tether has decided to halt the freeze and instead stop official minting and redemption on these networks.
The revised approach means that while users can still transfer USDT between wallets on these legacy blockchains, the assets will no longer be officially supported, and Tether will not provide the same level of maintenance or operational support as it does for active chains. According to Tether, “users can continue to transfer the tokens between wallets, but Tether will cease the direct minting and redemption of these blockchains. This means that the tokens are no longer officially supported as other Tether tokens.”
A Strategic Pivot Point
Tether’s decision to reverse its freeze plan suggests that the potential backlash from developers and users on networks like EOS and Algorand was a reputational risk that outweighed the technical simplicity of a clean break. The revised approach is a pragmatic compromise that allows the company to shed the burden of supporting low-activity chains while avoiding the public relations nightmare of effectively destroying user assets.
The move is part of Tether’s broader strategy to focus on active, high-liquidity chains. Just a day before the announcement, Tether revealed plans to launch a native USDT on Bitcoin via the RGB protocol. This step can be seen as a strategic bet on Bitcoin’s underlying security, as RGB uses Bitcoin’s own script and client validation to make USDT an intrinsic component of the Bitcoin ecosystem.
Expanding Support for Other Chains
Tether already distributes USDT via Ethereum and Tron, with over $80 billion in circulation on each platform, as well as on smaller platforms like Solana, Avalanche, Celo, and Cosmos. The company’s decision to halt the freeze on legacy blockchains and focus on more active chains is a sign of its commitment to supporting the evolving cryptocurrency landscape.
For more information on Tether’s revised transition plan and its implications for USDT holders, please visit the official Crypto News article.
