Tether funded both sides of Its own chain war

Tether funded both sides of its own chain war describes how stablecoin issuer Tether (USDT) backed competing blockchain routes at the same time to capture value and manage ecosystem costs. The article says Tether pays about $2.9 billion per year in fees to blockchains it does not control, driven by user transfers that generate network fees for underlying chains rather than for Tether itself. In response, it points to two initiatives: Plasma, a $373 million DeFi-oriented chain launched in September with a native token and features aimed at making USDT transfers free, and Stable, an enterprise-focused rail launched in December with USDT as gas and a pitch focused on blockspace for enterprises. It states Plasma was backed by Tether-adjacent capital and Founders Fund, while Stable was backed by Bitfinex with Tether’s CEO advising. The piece highlights that USDT movement routes heavily toward Ethereum validators and especially Tron, where yields and remittance demand underpin large parts of the transfer ecosystem.