Tether's USDT is 'coming home' to Bitcoin this month over a decade after debut there

“I can’t speak for Tether directly, but my personal observation is that Bitcoin is a big priority for them, and it’s our job to make USDT as accessible on Bitcoin as it is everywhere else,” Ihnatiuk added.

Privacy twist

Utexo’s aims to accomplish this by creating an architecture for the stablecoin that is more confidential than its equivalent on Ethereum or Tron.

Its RGB protocol will employ client-site validation to keep transaction data largely off Bitcoin’s public ledger, with ownership anchored in unspent transaction outputs (UTXOs), the chunks of bitcoin left over from transactions, similar to change from a cash purchase.

While networks like Ethereum and Tron rely on account-based models that share balance updates and transactions on public ledgers, Utexo’s architecture takes a different approach. Combining RGB’s client-side validation with Bitcoin’s UTXO model means transaction details stay entirely off-chain between the counterparties involved, using Bitcoin’s ledger solely to cryptographically demonstrate proof of ownership.

Utexo will issue USDT on Bitcoin, providing the infrastructure for exchanges, wallet providers and payment companies to offer services through APIs, SDKs and cloud.

There are three primary use cases, according to Utexo: private USDT transfers; direct swaps between native BTC and USDT without routing through an exchange; and lending, in which borrowers can use native bitcoin as collateral without wrapping it on another blockchain (as is the case with tokens like WBTC).