Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, has announced an update on its plan to end support for USDT on five legacy blockchains. The company has stated that it will discontinue redemptions and freeze remaining tokens on Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS, and Algorand blockchains, effective September 1, 2025.
The decision is part of a strategic infrastructure review that aligns with community usage trends and redirects resources toward promising and developing blockchains. Holders are, therefore, advised to redeem or migrate their tokens per Tether’s guidelines.
Market Demand, Other Factors Responsible for Tether’s Decision
According to Tether, the decision to discontinue USDT support on the five legacy blockchains follows a review of market demand, feedback from community stakeholders, and infrastructure partners. The data from the aforementioned factors was unfavorable, as the volume of USDT supply on the blockchains has significantly declined over two years.
Omni Layer, for instance, has seen its USDT circulation drop from hundreds of millions of USDT to just $83 million USDT. Bitcoin Cash SLP, Algorand, and the rest of the legacy chains have less than $1 million in circulating USDT. In response to Tether’s decision, CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company remains committed to adapting alongside the evolving cryptocurrency ecosystem. “Sunsetting support for these legacy chains allows us to focus on platforms that allow greater scalability, developer activity, and community engagement.”
Ardoino said Tether will pivot towards supporting scalable and interoperable Layer2 networks, such as the Ligtning Network, Arbitrum, and other promising, developing blockchains like Tron. He added that he’d reallocate resources from underperforming blockchains to platforms with enhanced growth and activity that serve its global user base better.
Impact of the Discontinued USDT Support on Customers and Chains
With Tether’s announcement, users are advised to redeem their USDT holdings as soon as possible on the affected platforms. Alternatively, they could move their holdings to supported blockchains through an available and approved third-party service provider. Those who failed to redeem or move their holdings accordingly won’t have access once USDT support ends, as the tokens will be frozen.
The effect could be massive for customers, and worse for the affected legacy blockchains. USDT powers most DeFi protocols, and removing it will cause liquidity issues on dApps that utilize the stablecoin. Furthermore, it will force protocols to move to alternative stablecoins like USDC, just like in the case of Algorand.
Lack of USDT could also limit DeFi utility, as it may discourage developers from building on these chains. In contrast, discontinued support will further strengthen the dominance of active chains that would receive Tether’s reallocated resources. It will also support scaling and innovative use cases of L2 chains, countering USDC adoption on these protocols.
What’s Next for Tether After Discontinued USDT Support?
Last week, Tether announced boldly its plan to become the largest Bitcoin miner by the end of 2025. The company had already made strategic investments to ensure it achieves this goal by investing in the Brazilian renewable energy mining company Adecoagro.
Tether also plans to pivot into the community trading sector, which Ardoino said would drive the next wave of investments. The company, however, has shut down claims of going public.
