Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino: USDT Will Return to the Bitcoin Network
Paolo Ardoino retweeted a post from UTEXO co-founder Viktor Ignatychuk, simply stating "USDT on Bitcoin. It's coming home." Ignatychuk described a dinner in Washington with representatives from Morgan Stanley, discussing promoting the adoption of USDT on Bitcoin, covering Europe and other regions. The bank has not yet released a product announcement.
The technical path involves the RGB protocol combined with UTEXO issuance, connecting to wallets and exchanges, and utilizing Lightning for cheaper transfers. Tether had previously stated in January 2025 that it would use USDT on Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, with a report in July indicating an upcoming launch. USDT originally existed on the Omni layer, later migrating liquidity to Tron and Ethereum; "coming home" refers to settling the largest stablecoin back on the Bitcoin script layer, rather than creating a new Tether chain. Ardoino denied the creation of a separate chain last month.
There is a regulatory gap. Tether has not applied for a MiCA license, and starting July 1, 2026, USDT will be delisted from EU-regulated trading platforms. The Washington dinner identified Europe as a target market, but the implementation framework was not specified. On the same day, Circle integrated USDC and CCTP into the Bitcoin financial layer through Alpen, with both dollar stablecoins competing for Bitcoin-side lending and payment scenarios.
The circulating supply remains primarily on Tron and Ethereum; if Bitcoin-native USDT only exists on the RGB client, its depth depends on whether exchanges enable deposits and withdrawals and market making. If Morgan Stanley only stays in exploration, the narrative is stronger than the pipeline. Lightning channels can reduce transfer fees but cannot automatically achieve the liquidity levels of Tron.
In market mechanics, what is sold is the dollar balance on Bitcoin addresses, and what is bought is RGB issuance and Lightning routing. Demand comes from holders and payment providers wanting to hold dollars without leaving Bitcoin, while supply comes from Tether minting. Beneficiaries are Tether and UTEXO, which can collect issuance and transfer fees, while those under pressure are USDT liquidity providers on Tron and EU platforms that have not yet connected. Funds are mapped from dollar reserves to Bitcoin UTXO RGB assets, then completed through Lightning for small movements.
Source: Public Information
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Ardoino's use of "coming home" covers a history of migration: Omni was too slow and expensive, and Tron took over the redemption; now with RGB and Lightning on the Bitcoin side, dollars are being invited back to avoid being written off as "stablecoins abandoning Bitcoin." Circle uses the official CCTP, while Tether employs RGB along with an infrastructure provider and an investment banking dinner, representing two different product philosophies: one is licensed cross-chain burn-and-mint, while the other is about bringing the existing USDT brand back to Bitcoin.
The capital path involves reserve interest plus on-chain fees. USDT remains the largest stablecoin, and any new chain serves as a diversion. Morgan Stanley's presence in the story is to provide an imagined entry point for institutional settlements, not an already connected clearing house. Europe lacks MiCA, and a dinner cannot replace a license.
Similar cycles can be seen with USDT moving from Omni to Ethereum to Tron, as well as WBTC and various wrapped Bitcoins. The industry is at a stage where "Bitcoin needs a financial layer, and stablecoins need a settlement layer" mutually requiring each other. Whoever enables one-click deposits and withdrawals for exchanges will truly come home.
Structural judgments belong to the reconstruction of the industry chain. The settlement network for dollar stablecoins attempts to migrate back to UTXO from smart contract chains. The mechanism is: Bitcoin provides final settlement and channels, while stablecoins provide the unit of account; issuers lacking licenses use technical narratives to fill regulatory gaps, while licensed issuers use burn-and-mint to mitigate bridge risks.
ABAB News · Law of Cognition
Stablecoins will say they are coming home on whichever chain they leave.
Investment banking dinners are not clearing channels.
If dollars are to go on Bitcoin, first ask if exchanges allow deposits and withdrawals.