Tether Moves $1 Billion USDT from Solana to Ethereum
On the evening of November 19, stablecoin issuer Tether announced a significant move: transferring $1 billion USDT from the Solana blockchain to Ethereum. Tether emphasized that this transfer is merely a change of blockchain for USDT and will not impact the overall supply of the stablecoin.
Graphic showing the USDT transfer from Solana to Ethereum. Source: TradingView
This shift will decrease the circulating supply of USDT on Solana from nearly $1.9 billion to around $900 million, while increasing the supply of USDT on Ethereum from $32.2 billion to $33.2 billion.
In few minutes Tether will coordinate with a 3rd party to perform a chain swap, converting from Solana to Ethereum ERC20, for 1B USDt. The #tether total supply will not change during this process.
— Tether (@Tether_to) November 18, 2022
Learn more about chain swaps ⬇️https://t.co/abfgnELSvi
Tether has not provided a specific reason for this transfer, only stating that it was executed with the assistance of a "third party." As of now, Solana has not commented on the situation.
The announcement comes just one day after several exchanges halted deposits and withdrawals of USDT and USDC issued on Solana, without offering any explanation. Representatives from Tether and Circle assured at the time that there were no issues with stablecoins on Solana.
This has raised concerns within the community about the potential collapse of the Solana ecosystem, especially following the bankruptcy of two major supporters of the blockchain: the FTX exchange and Alameda Research. Since early November, approximately $700 million in Total Value Locked (TVL) has exited the Solana ecosystem, with prices of major coins in the ecosystem continuing to decline.
Read More: Can the Solana Ecosystem Make a Comeback After the Collapse of FTX/Alameda Research?
