Key takeaways

Tether makes strategic changes to its operations

Stablecoin issuer Tether announced on Thursday, August 17th, that it would discontinue support for Kusama, Bitcoin Cash SLP and Omni Layer.

This latest cryptocurrency news comes despite Tether supporting Omni since 2014. According to the stablecoin issuer, the decision was made as the company is making strategic changes to its operations. 

Omni is a software layer built atop the Bitcoin blockchain and it enhances the features of the network by providing smart contract features. 

Tether has been supporting Omni for nearly a decade but had to discontinue due to a lack of demand. The Tether team said;

“Over the years, the Omni Layer faced challenges due to the lack of popular tokens and the availability of USD₮ on other blockchains. This led many exchanges to favour alternative transport layers, leading to a decline in USD₮ usage on Bitcoin using the Omni Layer.  As a principled organization, we must remain consistent and transparent, and adhere to open processes, even if it entails difficult choices.”

Tether records its first market cap decline in end-of-month since October

Tether has maintained its position as the largest stablecoin in the world. However, the stablecoin has had minor troubles in recent weeks. 

According to an August report by CCData, the market cap of USDT fell 0.62% to $83.3bn, recording the first decline in end-of-month market cap for USDT since October 2022. 

However, the market cap dominance of USDT rose to 67.1% from 66.7% with all of the top stablecoins registering a decline in market cap in August.

Tether said it will stop issuing its USDT stablecoin on Omni, Kusama and Bitcoin Cash from August 17, while users can continue to redeem their tokens on the networks for the next 12 months. 

Furthermore, users can also swap USDT on those networks for other chains on platforms that support these assets.