Tether, the company behind USDT, is preparing to issue its own stablecoin on Bitcoin through… RGB protocol Version v0.11.1. Posted by UTEXO Software LabUSDT is set to return to the chain that was first launched in 2014 via the Omni-Mastercoin layer.
UTEXO, a leading commercial offering, has positioned itself as an issuer and distributor of Bitcoin’s native USDT token in partnership with Tether. “Finally, after eight years of development – if not more – we are the company launching USDT via Bitcoin with the strong support of Tether,” said Viktor Ihnatyuk, co-founder of UTEXO, in an exclusive interview with Bitcoin Magazine.
The RGB protocol combines its novel Client side verification With the Lightning Network for instant and private settlements, with security pinned to Bitcoin’s UTXO model. Users can expect to be able to transact USDT on native Bitcoin addresses as well as send and receive it via the Lightning Network using compatible wallets.
The RGB protocol on Bitcoin also offers important privacy features for USDT users as the asset benefits from Bitcoin’s UTXO model, which standardizes new addresses for each transaction compared to account-based addresses that are commonly reused in EVM chains like Tron, Ethereum, or Solana. Address reuse is the first onchain privacy bug, yet most altcoins have built their interfaces to reuse addresses, despite the risks this poses to users. RGB’s integration with the Lightning Network further protects user privacy by transferring USDT over the off-chain payments network, leaving few marks on the public blockchain. Deep integration with Tether also means there are fewer intermediary companies charging additional fees or collecting data.
On this topic, Vktor emphasized, “We built Utexo so that USDT can move on Bitcoin the way money is supposed to move: instantly, privately, and without any cost surprises. Our partners integrate our API once and can route USDT on the most flexible open network ever, with full control over the cost structure.”
Eutexo vs. Tron
UTEXO emerged from a joint venture involving Viktor’s Boosty Venture Studio, Fulgur Ventures, and Tether Investments. The goal was clear and straightforward: bring RGB to the mainnet after years of delays under previous development teams. The protocol has been in active development since at least 2016, but failed to be ready for the 2017 bull market, giving the TRON blockchain dominance over USDT volume and usage throughout the developing world, a dominance it still maintains.
UTEXO specifically built the “last mile” of software needed to deploy USDT at scale across the Bitcoin ecosystem, which includes a SDK, mid-level APIs and protocols, UI design work, and even a Mint bridge that today runs on mint.utexo.com. This bridge allows users to transfer USDT across popular blockchains with “deterministic low fees” and without intermediaries thanks to its direct integration with Tether as the underlying mint. The RGB protocol layer was developed by Bitfinex’s strategic R&D expert Federico Tenga.
“Right now, if you want to swap USDT for Bitcoin, you need to pay high fees to all these wallets that charge you a one percent wallet fee plus a one percent swap provider fee on top of that, and you have one percent slippage as well, so you pay three percent, and you also wait forever for the swap to happen,” Victor told Bitcoin Magazine, adding that; “With USDT and Bitcoin instead of Lightning, for the first time you have two major assets on one chain, you can swap instantly without any slippage. You can swap decentralized USDT for Bitcoin and back on-chain. The price is almost the same as the spot markets on Binance.”
Networks like Tron that are primarily used to transfer USDT also add additional fees, swap commissions, and friction to the user experience. They require a different type of address, with fees paid in an asset like TRX, which is only used to transfer stablecoins. Since most of the cash volume in the cryptocurrency market is concentrated in Bitcoin and Tether, having to buy an altcoin just to pay fees ends up feeling like a chore.
Bitcoin, as the payment paths for USDT, also comes with levels of blockchain security that other chains cannot offer. While USDT will always be fundamentally central to Tether as a company, rails can also increase risk, for example, in the event of a controversial fork or major bugs being found in new blockchain systems. Bitcoin, being the oldest and most conservative blockchain, offers a quality guarantee of a kind that cannot be matched by other chains.
RGB has its roots in Peter Todd’s single-use stamps in 2014, and was formalized in 2016 by Giacomo Zucco and Riccardo Cassata. The RGB abbreviation, originally derived from “Riccardo Giacomo Bitcoin”, was later renamed “Really Good Bitcoin”. Tether explored the protocol early but faced delays with the previous team. Had RGB shipped on schedule around 2019, the stablecoin landscape and broader DeFi industry may have evolved differently around Bitcoin’s UTXO model rather than Ethereum’s account-based system.
As such, returning USDT to Bitcoin is UTEXO’s primary motivation. Victor didn’t mince any words about it: “For the first time in eight or nine years, USDT is coming home. We have no chance of failing. If we fail, no one will think about Bitcoin as a settlement layer anymore.”
USDT is expected to launch on Bitcoin via RGB within weeks, possibly in July of this year, with wallets such as Lanyard wallet Among other things announcing support, exchanges around the world to announce integrations.
