Not enough crypto fans have bought into the stablecoin alternative
Stablecoin Tether has cited a lack of interest in the Bitcoin Omni Layer version of its stablecoin, and will discontinue issuing tokens. The version of Tether was among the first stablecoins developed. In an announcement on August 17, the team said the Bitcoin Cash and Kusama versions would also be suspended.
According to the announcement, no new Tether tokens will be allocated on the Bitcoin Omni Layer, Kusama, or Bitcoin Cash. The company will give further updates throughout the year about how it will handle redemptions, which will remain available for at least a year.
A smart contract system built on the Bitcoin blockchain, the Bitcoin Omni Layer, initially called “Mastercoin,” was released two years before Ethereum in July 2013. The first stablecoin released on the system in 2014, Omni Layer Tether, quickly became the highest market cap stablecoin.
Tether aimed to acknowledge the historical significance that Omni Layer Tether had in crypto in its announcement on August 17: “We understand the significance of this decision, particularly for Omni, as it was the first transport layer that Tether used in 2014. The Omni Layer, built on top of Bitcoin, played a crucial role in Tether’s early journey, and we acknowledge the contributions and innovations the team has made to the crypto landscape.”
The team also revealed that the Omni Layer “faced challenges due to the lack of popular tokens and the availability of USDT on other blockchains.” This led exchanges to use alternate transport layers rather than Omni.
This started a decline in the usage of USDT Omni and eventually forced the company to stop issuing the stablecoin. However, if Omni usage increases in the future, Tether says it would consider reissuing the Omni Layer version.
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