What stablecoin holders face after issuer drops chains

Tether ceased issuance and redemption of USDT on five blockchains and then reversed a planned freeze on Aug. 29, 2025. Tokens on Omni, Bitcoin Cash SLP, Kusama, EOS and Algorand remain on those blockchains and can move between wallets, but Tether no longer mints new tokens on those chains or redeems them for dollars.

Tether began winding down support in stages. In August 2023 the company stopped new USDT issuance on Omni, Kusama and Bitcoin Cash SLP. In June 2024 it halted minting on EOS and Algorand. In July 2024 Tether announced it would stop redemptions and freeze remaining tokens on the five networks effective Sept. 1, 2025. On Aug. 29, 2025, following feedback from the affected blockchain communities, Tether said it would not lock the smart contracts, leaving balances transferable but unsupported.

At the time of the change the five chains together held a small portion of USDT supply. Omni held about $83 million, EOS roughly $4.2 million, Bitcoin Cash SLP under $1 million, Algorand about $841,000 and Kusama under 250,000 USDT.

The smart contracts on those networks continue to record balances and process transfers. What changed is the issuer relationship: Tether no longer issues new tokens on those chains and no longer accepts redemptions there. Redemption by the issuer is the mechanism that lets traders arbitrage price differences by buying tokens below $1 and exchanging them with the issuer for dollars. With redemption removed on a chain, that arbitrage path is no longer available for tokens on that chain.

Secondary-market prices for unsupported tokens depend on what buyers will pay and on whether holders can move tokens to chains where issuer redemption still works. Exchanges may remove trading pairs for deprecated tokens and market makers may reduce activity. Bridge providers tend to maintain routes that handle significant volumes, so lower-volume networks can lose bridge support over time.

Tether said the decision followed a review of on-chain usage, market demand and stakeholder input. CEO Paolo Ardoino framed the action as a concentration of resources on platforms with greater scalability, developer activity and community engagement.

Holders could move tokens to networks where Tether continues to issue and redeem USDT. The company provided more than a year of notice before the planned cutoff and revised its freeze decision after community responses.