Stablecoins • August 19, 2020, 11:02AM EDT

Tether goes live on the OMG Network to combat transaction congestion on Ethereum

The Block

After announcing plans to integrate Tether (USDT) into the OMG Network at the end of May, the stablecoin is now live on the network, according to Tether.

At the time the integration was initially announced, Bitfinex said enabling USDT on the network would reduce transaction confirmation times and fees. Ethereum has seen a rise in average gas prices and vulnerabilities to network congestion in the past months, making the integration on OMG Network a solution to offering lower transaction costs.

“Today, we’re excited to announce the launch of Tether on the OMG Network that supports thousands of transactions per second at a third of the cost of the same transaction on Ethereum,” said Vansa Chatikavanij, CEO at OMG Network in the announcement. “We’re delighted to address these fundamental issues and drive further growth and adoption of open financial services.”

In an effort to facilitate arbitrage opportunities for traders, the network has also enabled deposits and withdrawals of USDT at Bitfinex, according to the announcement. Ease of access to funds will allow for quicker reaction time to take advantage of pricing opportunities. 

The OMG Network, once OmiseGo, is a non-custodial, Layer-2 scaling solution for transferring value on Ethereum. Tether, which is the stablecoin with the largest market capitalization, is also integrated on Algorand, Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni and Tron. 

About Author

Aislinn Keely joined The Block in the summer of 2019. She is a member of the outlet's policy team, holding down the legal beat. Before The Block, she lent her voice to the NPR affiliate WFUV, where she reported and anchored newscasts in addition to some podcast work. Aislinn is a proud Fordham Ram and editor-in-chief emerita of its newspaper. When she isn't writing or reporting, Aislinn is running and rock climbing.

More by Aislinn Keely