In a sweeping move that’s reshaping the stablecoin landscape, Tether has announced plans to sunset USDT operations on five legacy blockchains by September 2025. The company is pulling the plug on Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS, and Algorand. Not exactly household names these days, right? Together they represent a measly 0.1% of Tether’s $139.4 billion empire. Talk about falling from grace.
These networks were once the darlings of the crypto world. Now? Ghost towns with tumbleweeds rolling through their transaction logs. After the deadline, any remaining tokens will be frozen. Sorry, procrastinators. Users need to redeem or migrate their assets before the guillotine drops. Omni Layer, once a pioneer, now holds just $82.9 million in USDT. How the mighty have fallen.
Tether isn’t just cutting dead weight. They’re doubling down on what works. Ethereum and Tron remain the golden children, hosting the vast majority of USDT transactions. Both networks have maintained higher USDT dominance and continue to grow their user base. It’s simple math, really. Why maintain five underperforming networks when resources could supercharge the winners? Layer 2 solutions and high-performance platforms are getting the red carpet treatment instead. These scaling solutions enable state channels for faster and cheaper USDT transactions.
This move signals a broader industry shift toward scalability. The crypto world is growing up. No more supporting every blockchain that comes along with a flashy whitepaper. Consolidation is the name of the game. Tether wants networks with actual users, not technological ghost ships.
For the average Joe holding USDT, this means nothing if you’re on Ethereum or Tron. For the few souls stranded on the doomed chains, the clock’s ticking. The writing’s been on the wall for years—these networks couldn’t scale, couldn’t attract developers, couldn’t keep up. The decision came after a careful infrastructure audit revealed diminishing activity on these platforms.
Tether’s technical teams can now focus where it matters. More efficient transactions. Better infrastructure. Fewer headaches. Sometimes progress means knowing when to pull the plug. September 2025 marks the end of an era—and possibly the beginning of a more streamlined future.