The company will continue to support existing smart contracts
Tether, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin, announced on Friday that it has changed course on its earlier plan to freeze USDT smart contracts across five blockchains. Instead of locking tokens, the company will keep them transferable, while halting new issuance and redemption on the affected networks.
Tether Provides Update on Transition Plan for Legacy Blockchains
Learn more: https://t.co/XDoTUQNUbm— Tether (@Tether_to) August 29, 2025
The update impacts Omni Layer, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS, and Algorand. Initially, Tether had intended to freeze all USDT on these blockchains starting today, but after receiving feedback from users and developers, the company revised its approach.
“Following the feedback from the communities of these discontinued blockchains, Tether has revised this approach and will not freeze the smart contracts on these networks,” the company said.
Although USDT will remain usable for peer-to-peer transfers on these chains, it will no longer be officially supported. That means no new tokens will be issued, and redemptions will not be processed. Tether has emphasized that its focus is shifting to ecosystems with higher developer activity and greater demand, such as Ethereum and Tron, where adoption is strongest.
According to DefiLlama, Tron currently holds $80.9 billion worth of USDT in circulation, while Ethereum has $72.4 billion. BNB Chain is a distant third with $6.78 billion. These three blockchains account for the overwhelming majority of USDT usage worldwide.
Among the networks losing support, Omni Layer stands out as the most affected, with around $82.9 million USDT still in circulation. EOS trails far behind with $4.2 million, while Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, and Algorand each host less than $1 million.
The stablecoin market remains one of the fastest-growing sectors in crypto. With a market cap of $285.9 billion, led by USDT at $167.4 billion and USDC at $71.5 billion, analysts expect continued expansion. US Treasury projections suggest the market could swell to $2 trillion by 2028, further entrenching dollar-pegged digital assets as a key component of global finance.
