Tether invests in LayerZero to boost cross-chain USDT (USDt0) and agentic finance

Published: 2026-02-10 16:36:07 |

Tether Investments made an undisclosed strategic investment in LayerZero Labs to accelerate adoption of LayerZero’s cross-chain interoperability protocol that underpins USDt0 — a blockchain-agnostic version of USDT built on the Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard. USDt0 has moved over $70 billion across chains since launch and aims to reduce stablecoin fragmentation by enabling liquid transfers without locking liquidity on a single network. Tether highlighted emerging “agentic finance” use cases, where autonomous AI agents manage wallets and execute micropayments using stablecoins. The deal comes after USDt0’s deployment by Everdawn Labs and complements Tether’s broader asset strategy; financial terms were not disclosed. Market reaction was muted: LayerZero’s ZRO token spiked about 10% on the news then reversed to roughly -3% over 24 hours. For traders, the investment strengthens USDT’s cross-chain rails and could increase on-chain USDT flows and routing efficiency, altering liquidity dynamics across networks and potentially affecting short-term volatility in LayerZero-related tokens and USDT liquidity pools.

Bullish

The investment is bullish for the mentioned tokens and protocols because it strengthens the infrastructure that expands USDT’s cross-chain utility. Improved rails for USDt0 reduce fragmentation and can increase on-chain transfer volume and liquidity for USDT across multiple networks. That generally supports demand for LayerZero’s protocol services and related tokens (eg. ZRO), and may lead to increased usage of USDT in DeFi and institutional tokenization products. Short-term price impact can be mixed: ZRO saw an initial spike then a retracement, reflecting news-driven trading and profit-taking. Over the medium to long term, clearer and deeper cross-chain liquidity tends to be positive for adoption and for protocol-native tokens that capture usage fees or governance value. Risks that could temper bullishness include undisclosed deal size, no guaranteed product changes, and potential competitive responses from other cross-chain projects. For traders: expect heightened on-chain USDT flows, possible temporary volatility around liquidity routing changes, and a generally improved structural outlook for LayerZero-related assets if USDt0 adoption continues.