Utexo, a Bitcoin-native execution and settlement layer for stablecoin payments, announced a $7.5 million seed round co-led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings, and Portal Ventures, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Maven11 Capital, Fulgur Ventures, Alchemy VC, Ethereal Ventures, Auros Ventures, Arcanum Capital, Paper Ventures, Axia8, FlowTraders, Plan B, Gate Ventures, Sats Ventures, and strategic angels from Ledger, Hyperion, BTC Turk, Echo, Legion, and SOLV. The funding will support the launch of native USDT settlement directly over Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, addressing long-standing infrastructure gaps.
Historically, Bitcoin's Lightning Network and RGB protocol have offered powerful capabilities but remained complex to deploy in production. Utexo abstracts this complexity through a single API layer, enabling payment operators to route USDT settlement over Bitcoin-native rails without managing technical trade-offs or altering custody or compliance workflows. The infrastructure allows partners to move stablecoin volume with predictable costs, privacy, and atomic settlement anchored to Bitcoin's security model.
“Bitcoin has always been central to Tether’s long-term vision for USDT,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “What has been missing is production-ready infrastructure that makes Bitcoin-native stablecoin settlement viable at scale. Utexo provides that layer. By enabling native USDT settlement directly over Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, with predictable costs and seamless integration, it strengthens Bitcoin’s position as a global settlement rail for real-world dollar transactions.”
Utexo's solution offers the first-ever availability of USDT over the Lightning Network, with fees that are fixed and known in advance regardless of network congestion. Settlement costs are paid in USDT and do not fluctuate with blockspace demand. Transactions settle atomically and privately in under one second, with only encrypted transactions written on-chain, preventing disclosure of counterparties' payment flows and wallet addresses. This contrasts with public transaction graphs on other networks that expose sensitive data.
“We built Utexo so that USDT could move on Bitcoin the way money is supposed to move: instantly, privately, with no surprises on costs,” said Chris Hutchinson, Co-founder of Utexo. “Our partners integrate our API once and can route USDT natively on the most resilient open network ever built, with full control over their cost structure.” Viktor Ihnatiuk, Co-founder, added: “For the first time, wallets will be able to offer their users free USDT transactions. Utexo provides a built-in growth flywheel: wallets grow their user base, while USDT bootstraps adoption on Bitcoin. After more than a decade, we're bringing USDT back home.”
Utexo's infrastructure is designed for payment service providers, exchanges, wallets, high-frequency trading firms, and platforms handling large USDT volumes for merchant settlement, payouts, cross-border transfers, and global commerce. The go-to-market strategy focuses on routing existing USDT flows onto Bitcoin as infrastructure catches up with operational needs. With stablecoins replacing legacy payment rails worldwide, Utexo enables Bitcoin to function as a viable settlement layer for dollar-denominated payments.
For more information, visit utexo.com and follow on X at x.com/utexocom.
