[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] Tether is pushing to issue the dollar-pegged stablecoin USDT natively on Bitcoin through the RGB protocol.

Foreign media outlets including Cryptopolitan and Bitcoin Magazine reported on Monday that the launch is likely to come this month. They said multiple exchanges, including Tether Wallet, are working on integration.

The key aim is to move the USDT payment layer back to Bitcoin. About 85 percent of total USDT supply sits on the TRON and Ethereum networks, based on Tether data. With those networks effectively serving as USDT’s main payment infrastructure, Bitcoin-based USDT will need support from exchanges, wallets and payment operators to draw in circulation and payment demand.

USDT began on Bitcoin’s Omni layer in 2014, but its center of gravity later shifted to Ethereum and TRON, which were more advantageous in fees and infrastructure. This time it will use RGB v0.11.1, a Bitcoin asset protocol developed by software company UTEXO. UTEXO will handle issuance and distribution together with Tether.

UTEXO co-founder Victor Inatyuk (빅터 이나티욱) called the move an important milestone in Bitcoin history. He told Bitcoin Magazine that USDT is returning home after 8 to 9 years, and that if it fails, no one will think of Bitcoin as a payment layer anymore.

RGB validates transactions off-chain and leaves only minimal cryptographic commitments on Bitcoin. It focuses on reducing on-chain records to ease congestion and improve user privacy. The project side said combining this structure with the Lightning Network can use Bitcoin’s security and Lightning’s fast transfer speeds together. Users will be able to hold USDT in a Bitcoin wallet and send it through a Lightning-compatible wallet.

Tether has already completed a Bitcoin-based USDT rollout in March 2026 through Lightning Labs’ Taproot Assets protocol. The RGB move is a different path from Taproot Assets. By choosing RGB v0.11.1 as a new issuance route, competition is set to intensify over which asset protocol in the Bitcoin ecosystem is better suited to stablecoins and tokenized assets.

Inatyuk said the approach could reduce the need to bridge assets between multiple blockchains. He said that if USDT and Bitcoin move together on Lightning, it would be the first time the two core assets are handled on a single chain and could be exchanged instantly without slippage.

Technical preparations are already under way. RGB 0.11.1 began operating on the Bitcoin mainnet in July 2025. UTEXO launched with support from Boosty Venture Studio, Fulgur Ventures and Tether Investments, and recently raised $7.5 million in investment led by Tether, Big Brain VC and Portal Ventures. It confirmed funding flows aimed at supporting RGB development as a Bitcoin-native asset route.

There are also use-case examples. In April, Solv Protocol worked with UTEXO to implement a yield strategy based on direct Bitcoin-to-USDT trades on Bitcoin. It also linked the x402 payment protocol with the payment layer to process machine-to-machine USDT payments in about 50 milliseconds.

Some point out that a protocol alone will not change the landscape. Galaxy Research, reviewing Tether’s Taproot Assets plan, said USDT’s return to Bitcoin shows a move to expand Bitcoin beyond digital gold into payments, decentralised finance (DeFi) and tokenized asset platforms. It also warned that competition will not be easy given Tron’s existing payment infrastructure and liquidity.

Lightning adoption is increasing. River Financial said the Bitcoin Lightning Network processed 5.22 million payments in November 2025, and transaction volume reached $1.17 billion, topping $1 billion monthly for the first time. Blockonomi reported that in January 2026, Secure Digital Market transferred $1 million from Kraken via Lightning in 0.43 seconds.

Ultimately, whether Bitcoin-based USDT can erode Tron’s edge depends on the pace of ecosystem adoption. Tether’s issuance method remains centralised, but the underlying layer where payments take place can change. It is effectively a bid by Bitcoin to reclaim the USDT payment-layer role after nearly 10 years.

USDT Returns to Bitcoin: RGB and UTEXO Enable Private Lightning Settlements https://t.co/USpYWbcdpL via @bitcoinmagazine @utexocom