Is USDT's cross-chain version, USDT0, reliable?

By: blockbeats|2025/04/15 16:45:01
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Original Author: 0xTodd, Partner at Nothing Research

Wasn't Uni supposed to restart liquidity mining on 4.15? This time it involves 12 pools, many of which are related to $USDT0. So, I'll take this opportunity to talk about USDT0.

Firstly, What is USDT0?

Is USDT's cross-chain version, USDT0, reliable?

In simple terms, USDT0 is the cross-chain version of USDT. The parent asset USDT exists on ETH and, through Layer0, can cross-chain to other chains, becoming USDT0.

Supporters of USDT0 can also cross among themselves, for example, ETH-Arb-Unichain-BearChain-megaETH, and so on.

Who is Behind USDT0?

This is the most tricky part, and it took me a long time to figure it out.

Behind this project, USDT0, is a collaboration of 1+3:

1. Led by Everdawn Labs;

2.1 Built on Layer0 technology;

2.2 Endorsed by Tether;

2.3 Endorsed by the INK public chain (issued by Kraken).

However, Everdawn Labs is a complete mystery online. I strongly suspect that it is a front for Tether. This is quite consistent with their style:

If nothing goes wrong—everyone benefits from the multi-chain convenience of USDT; if something goes wrong—then it's Everdawn Labs' fault, not Tether's. One reason for this speculation is that after the launch of USDT0 this year, the Tether team immediately expressed their support, followed by a dedicated article by Bitfinex. Without a strong relationship, they (BF and Tether) would not provide this kind of support.

What's the Evaluation?

In my opinion, if Tether is personally involved in this bridge, it's definitely a great move. This way, each chain's USDT can cross without loss, avoiding the need for various awkward third-party cross-chain bridges.

However, my level of trust in Layer0 is limited. In the past, there have been numerous high-profile cross-chain bridge failures, from multichain to thorchain. The technology behind cross-chain transactions is fundamentally simple, mainly relying on multi-signature setups. In the past, USDT used official bridges and did not utilize Layer0, a third-party bridge.

Official bridges are generally considered more secure, but they suffer from liquidity fragmentation. For example, if you want to move a large amount of capital from Arb to OP in a flash loan manner, you would need to first go back from Arb to ETH and then proceed to OP, which incurs additional costs for a faster transaction. PS: Not to mention chains like Sei, where even official bridge transactions incur fees for entry and exit.

On the other hand, if you opt for the USDT0 solution, Arb can directly move to OP in a flash and without loss. PS: Of course, there is a historical issue on OP where the USDT used is an older version of the ETH cross-chain version, while USDT0 represents the newer version. Thus, although theoretically viable to move funds from Arb to OP, in practice, it has been futile in the past. This is just an illustrative example.

New public chains, as they support USDT0 from the outset and lack historical issues, offer much higher usability. However, Tether itself is reluctant to directly engage in building this bridge and insists on sending a proxy like Everdawn Labs, which is a bit...

In the past, when I provided liquidity for $UNI on ETH, I only had to consider the minor third-party risks of Tether and Uniswap. Now, I have to bear an additional 4 risks: Everdawn going rogue, L0 going rogue, Unichain going rogue, USDT0 supporting other N chains, and each one potentially going rogue.

It sounds a bit overwhelming.

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Mixin has launched USTD-margined perpetual contracts, bringing derivative trading into the chat scene.

The privacy-focused crypto wallet Mixin announced today the launch of its U-based perpetual contract (a derivative priced in USDT). Unlike traditional exchanges, Mixin has taken a new approach by "liberating" derivative trading from isolated matching engines and embedding it into the instant messaging environment.


Users can directly open positions within the app with leverage of up to 200x, while sharing positions, discussing strategies, and copy trading within private communities. Trading, social interaction, and asset management are integrated into the same interface.


Simplified Trading Experience: No KYC Required, Opening a Position in Five Steps


Based on its non-custodial architecture, Mixin has eliminated friction from the traditional onboarding process, allowing users to participate in perpetual contract trading without identity verification.


The trading process has been streamlined into five steps:

· Choose the trading asset

· Select long or short

· Input position size and leverage

· Confirm order details

· Confirm and open the position


The interface provides real-time visualization of price, position, and profit and loss (PnL), allowing users to complete trades without switching between multiple modules.


Social-Native Trading: Strategy and Execution Completed in the Same Context


Mixin has directly integrated social features into the derivative trading environment. Users can create private trading communities and interact around real-time positions:

· End-to-end encrypted private groups supporting up to 1024 members

· End-to-end encrypted voice communication

· One-click position sharing

· One-click trade copying


On the execution side, Mixin aggregates liquidity from multiple sources and accesses decentralized protocol and external market liquidity through a unified trading interface.


By combining social interaction with trade execution, Mixin enables users to collaborate, share, and execute trading strategies instantly within the same environment.


Referral Mechanism: Non-institutional users can receive up to 60% fee split


Mixin has also introduced a referral incentive system based on trading behavior:

· Users can join with an invite code

· Up to 60% of trading fees as referral rewards

· Incentive mechanism designed for long-term, sustainable earnings


This model aims to drive user-driven network expansion and organic growth.


Self-Custody Architecture and Built-in Privacy Mechanism


Mixin's derivative transactions are built on top of its existing self-custody wallet infrastructure, with core features including:


· Separation of transaction account and asset storage

· User full control over assets

· Platform does not custody user funds

· Built-in privacy mechanisms to reduce data exposure


The system aims to strike a balance between transaction efficiency, asset security, and privacy protection.


A New Path for On-Chain Derivatives


Against the background of perpetual contracts becoming a mainstream trading tool, Mixin is exploring a different development direction by lowering barriers, enhancing social and privacy attributes.


The platform does not only view transactions as execution actions but positions them as a networked activity: transactions have social attributes, strategies can be shared, and relationships between individuals also become part of the financial system.


Regulatory Background


Mixin's design is based on a user-initiated, user-controlled model. The platform neither custodies assets nor executes transactions on behalf of users.


This model aligns with a statement issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13, 2026, titled "Staff Statement on Whether Partial User Interface Used in Preparing Cryptocurrency Securities Transactions May Require Broker-Dealer Registration."


The statement indicates that, under the premise where transactions are entirely initiated and controlled by users, non-custodial service providers that offer neutral interfaces may not need to register as broker-dealers or exchanges.


About Mixin


Mixin is a decentralized, self-custodial privacy wallet designed to provide secure and efficient digital asset management services.


Its core capabilities include:

· Aggregation: integrating multi-chain assets and routing between different transaction paths to simplify user operations

· High liquidity access: connecting to various liquidity sources, including decentralized protocols and external markets

· Decentralization: achieving full user control over assets without relying on custodial intermediaries

· Privacy protection: safeguarding assets and data through MPC, CryptoNote, and end-to-end encrypted communication


Mixin has been in operation for over 8 years, supporting over 40 blockchains and more than 10,000 assets, with a global user base exceeding 10 million and an on-chain self-custodied asset scale of over $1 billion.


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