Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has strengthened its multichain strategy through a new partnership with Tether, the issuer of the world’s most widely used stablecoin.
Together, they have rolled out USDT0 to OKX’s Ethereum Layer 2 network, known as X Layer, and to OKX Wallet and Exchange.
This announcement on Tuesday is part of their step toward unifying stablecoin liquidity across decentralised finance ecosystems and simplifying how stablecoins move between centralised and decentralised markets.
With over 80 million users worldwide, including millions in Africa, OKX believes this move will help remove barriers to stablecoin adoption.
What is USDT0?
USDT0 is described as an Omnichain Fungible Token built on LayerZero’s protocol. Unlike traditional bridging systems that wrap tokens when moving them across blockchains, USDT0 ensures that every transfer is verifiable and backed on a one-to-one basis by canonical USDT.
This removes the complexity and vulnerabilities often associated with wrapped tokens, which have been exploited in DeFi. Instead, USDT0 creates a direct pathway for faster settlements, rollup-to-rollup transfers, and liquidity flows that work seamlessly across platforms.
OKX emphasised that this integration “removes the friction that has held stablecoins back for too long,” presenting it as a stronger and more reliable foundation for digital finance.
Customers can now deposit and withdraw USDT0 directly through the wallet and the exchange. They also gain access to deeper liquidity pools across multiple networks such as Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, Unichain, and Berachain.
The integration allows users to move funds between centralised venues and decentralised markets without relying on third-party bridges, making transacting faster and safer.
Skyrexio, a platform known for AI-powered trading, reacted to the partnership by stating that “unified liquidity for USDT across 12+ chains is massive—this kind of standardisation cuts friction and strengthens the entire DeFi stack.”
OKX CEO Star Xu described X Layer as “the New Money Chain and a foundation for seamless, stable, and interoperable value exchange.”
He added that partnering with Tether to bring USDT0 into X Layer “empowers our customers with stable omnichain liquidity across the networks they rely on most, while bridging centralised and decentralised finance faster, easier, and more intuitively than ever before.”
USDT0 growth
In less than a year, it has already surpassed 11.3 billion dollars in bridge volume, facilitated more than 251,000 cross-chain transfers, and connected nine chain pathways.
Lorenzo R., co-founder of USDT0, noted its importance: “Stablecoins are becoming the backbone of on-chain finance. With USDT0 live on OKX and X Layer, millions of users and builders can tap into unified, cross-chain liquidity at scale.”
He further explained that this expansion “isn’t just about adding more chains, it’s about removing the friction that has held stablecoins back for too long and making USDT instantly usable wherever builders and customers need it most.”
Beyond Ethereum-based ecosystems, Tether also extends its reach to the Bitcoin blockchain. The company recently revealed its plans to launch USDT through the RGB protocol, which went live on the mainnet.
RGB enables scalable, private, and user-controlled asset issuance on Bitcoin to expand the network’s utility beyond just a store of value.