On June 1, 2020 it was announced that all Tether (USDt) transfers on the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange will migrate to OMG Network to resolve issues with Ethereum (ETH) scalability.
Tether (USDt) migrates to second layer of Ethereum (ETH)
According to the official announcement, the remittances of the ERC-20 version of the U.S. Dollar Tether (USDt) stablecoin on Bitfinex will be executed not through Ethereum (ETH) directly, but through its second-layer infrastructure, Plasma.
OMG Network, the platforms for Plasma-based transactions, is a partner of this integration. So, USDt deposits and withdrawals on Bitfinex will be supported by the OMG Network.
Plasma is one approach to solving the problem of Ethereum (ETH) scalability. With Plasma, many Ethereum (ETH) network transactions (both Ether and ERC-standard tokens) can be processed in one block which significantly reduces transaction fees and advances the speed of confirmation.
Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino highlighted that the new integration is crucial for the trading experience of Bitfinex users. Tether (USDt) integration with OMG Network's Plasma:
...allows traders to react faster to trading opportunities and more efficiently arbitrage between exchanges as the network grows
Rebranding and mainnet
OMG Network is a new brand of OmiseGo, a veteran in Ethereum-based financial services launched in 2017. Today it has announced that after three years of hard work, its Beta Mainnet is finally live.
As per its team's statement, this solution reduces the costs of Ethereum-based transactions by 66%. OMG Network also released a demo web wallet and block explorer to showcase the newest product achievements.
Ethereum Foundation co-founder Vitalik Buterin has congratulated OMG Network on the long-awaited milestone:
It is worth noting that three years ago the OmiseGo (OMG) platform was one of the last ICOs directly advised by Vitalik Buterin.
Recently, the OMG token pumped 33% on the announcement of getting listed on the Coinbase Pro industry-level crypto exchange ecosystem.