Celo, Chainlink, Hyperlane, and Velodrome Reveal Super USDT on OP Superchain

Blockchain infrastructure providers and protocols Celo, Chainlink, Hyperlane, and Velodrome have announced the launch of a new interoperable Tether (USDT) token for the OP Superchain ecosystem, called Super USDT (USDT).

The Superchain is a network of interoperable layer-2 scaling solutions, known as OP Chains, utilizing Optimism’s technology. Every OP Chain in the Superchain is built using the OP Stack and governed by the Optimism Collective.

Solving a ‘Critical Issue’

According to the press release shared with Cryptonews, this move has created open and unified liquidity for USDT within the Superchain.

The team argues that the Superchain ecosystem features a “critical issue.” Specifically, the interconnected blockchains in this network have to deploy their own version of bridged USDT or pay a third party to allow them to deploy a bridged token contract.

While both options are rather complex, the former also leads to liquidity fragmentation and limited interoperability, the announcement highlights. Super USDT can solve this issue, it added.

Moreover, the coin is backed 1:1 with native USDT locked on Celo. At the same time, the coin leverages Chainlink Cross-Chain Interoperability Protocol (CCIP) and Hyperlane for cross-chain transferability. It utilizes Chainlink’s security and Hyperlane’s open interoperability framework to solve the ecosystem’s issues.

Subsequently, Superchain networks gain permissionless access to Tether’s USDT, which DeFi protocols can use directly.

“USDT has been the lifeblood of DeFi for many years,” said Johann Eid, Chief Business Officer at Chainlink Labs. Super USDT makes it possible “to seamlessly bring USDT anywhere on any Optimism chain.”

Meanwhile, Tether is the largest stablecoin by circulation and market capitalization with nearly $142.2 billion in market cap.

USDT market cap:

Eid added that “Chainlink’s full tech stack will be unleashed for the adoption of USDT in the Optimism ecosystem.” At the same time, both Chainlink Data Feeds and Chainlink CCIP will help make the USDT adoption “seamless for DeFi developers looking to use the largest stablecoin in the space.”

Available Across 10 Blockchains

Super USDT is now available on ten chains: Base, Fraxtal, Lisk, Metal, Mode, Optimism, Soneium, Superseed, Unichain, and World Chain.

The novel cross-chain stablecoin is natively interoperable across all Superchain networks, with zero vendor lock-in, the announcement said. Additionally, it can expand fast to new Superchain networks thanks to Hyperlane deployment.

Jon Kol, CEO of Abacus Works, a core team of Hyperlane, commented that this team allows Super USDT to easily expand to any chain. What’s more, Super USDT “will be able to grow with the Superchain even as new rollups launch,” Kol said.

Meanwhile, Celo is the hub chain for the coin. Here, native USDT is locked to mint Super USDT on other chains. At the same time, the teams claim that there are no “exorbitant fees” for additional OP Superchains to integrate Super USDT support. There is free access “without predatory business practices.”

Notably, the new coin is upgradeable to native USDT. This allows “eventual transition to native minting and redemptions on a chain-by-chain basis,” in collaboration with the USDT issuer Tether.

Super USDT will act as the official stablecoin on Superchain trading and liquidity marketplace, and it can upgrade to use native Superchain interop with the ERC-7802 standard.

Alexander, a Contributor at Velodrome, argued that Super USDT is an ecosystem upgrade. It removes challenges for the Superchain builders, improves UX, and accelerates onboarding to the on-chain economy.

Introducing Superlane.

An interoperability solution from Hyperlane and @VelodromeFi that brings you @Optimism Superchain interoperability early!

Discover how ⏩ https://t.co/fwIYEHzWhD pic.twitter.com/dSpTUuA8pM

— Hyperlane ⏩ (@hyperlane) October 16, 2024

Moreover, Super USDT will help Ethereum become the leading settlement layer for global payments and DeFi, said Celo Co-Founder and Celo Foundation President Rene Reinsberg.

“With sub-cent transaction fees, stablecoin gas payments, seamless on- and off-ramps, and as the only Layer-2 with native USDT following Celo’s migration next month, serving as the backbone for Super USDT is a way for us to realize this vision,” Reinsberg said.