Tether launches on Blockstream's Liquid just in time for NYAG court hearing

Bitcoin development firm Blockstream has launched a new version of the stablecoin Tether (USDT) on its nascent “Liquid Network,” a “sidechain” protocol designed to link together exchanges. 

“Liquid” tethers will be better and faster and more secure, according to Blockstream CSO Samson Mow, who over the weekend described critical reports on Tether as “clickbait hit pieces masquerading as impartial investigative reporting.”

Starting today, Liquid USDT will be available for deposit and withdrawal on Bitfinex, the sister exchange of USDT-issuer Tether and the subject of a months-long government investigation that, coincidentally, had another day in court today.

Launched in October, Liquid was designed to support a higher transactional load than the Bitcoin network, and allows users to trade the nominal value of Bitcoin using an Bitcoin-pegged cryptocurrency called “Liquid Bitcoin” (L-BTC), which they will now be able to swap with Liquid Tethers. 

The platform also offers the “Green Wallet,” a cold wallet that allows users to store their coins offline, along with “Confidential Transactions,” which blind third parties to Liquid-based transactions.

The Liquid Network, according to Mow’s blog post, is currently supported by exchanges and services BTSE, BTCTrader, OKEx, OKCoin, RenrenBit and Sideshift AI.

This isn’t the first alt-tether, other iterations of which are already deployed on the Bitcoin-based Omni layer, EOS, Tron and Algorand.