Stablecoin leader Tether has announced it will stop issuing new USDT tokens on the EOS and Algorand blockchains starting June 24. The news was posted on Tether’s official blog on Monday, June 24.
Even though Tether will cease minting new USDT on EOS and Algorand, it will continue to redeem existing USDT on these blockchains for the next 12 months. Tether mentioned that further changes might be considered and announced after this period.
Balancing the Tether Ecosystem
Tether explained that this decision is part of their strategy to maintain balance within the Tether ecosystem. The company evaluates each network’s security to ensure safety, usability, and sustainability. Their goal is to allocate resources where they can improve security and efficiency while fostering innovation.
Tether reassured users that this transition would be handled carefully to minimize disruption. Their priority is to provide a seamless user experience and ensure a hassle-free transition for their community.
Current Circulation on EOS and Algorand
EOS and Algorand are two of the 17 blockchains that support Tether transactions. As of June 22, the total USDT circulating on EOS was $75.5 million, representing about 0.06% of the nearly $113 billion total circulating USDT. On Algorand, the USDT circulation was even smaller, with around $17 million, or 0.01% of the total supply.
Tether launched USDT on the Algorand blockchain in 2020, following its rollout on the EOS blockchain in May 2019. However, EOS and Algorand are not the only blockchains Tether has decided to leave.
EOS and Algorand Are Not the Only Ones
In August 2023, Tether stopped issuing USDT on three other blockchains: Kusama, Bitcoin Cash SLP (Simple Ledger Protocol), and the Omni Layer Protocol, which was the original USDT blockchain.
While discontinuing support for some blockchains, Tether is also adding new ones. In April 2024, Tether launched USDT on The Open Network (TON). Since then, Tether has issued around $500 million worth of USDT on TON, which is about 0.44% of the total circulating supply.
