Utexo, a Bitcoin-native execution and settlement layer for stablecoin payments, announced a $7.5M seed round co-led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings, and Portal Ventures, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Maven11 Capital, and others. The funding will support Utexo's mission to enable native USDT settlement directly over Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, addressing the longstanding need for production-ready infrastructure that makes Bitcoin-native stablecoin settlement viable at scale.
Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether, stated, "Bitcoin has always been central to Tether’s long-term vision for USDT. Market cycles come and go, but the need for open and resilient settlement infrastructure remains constant. 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 with predictable costs and seamless integration, Utexo strengthens Bitcoin's position as a global settlement rail for real-world dollar transactions.
Historically, the Lightning Network and RGB have unlocked powerful capabilities on Bitcoin but remained complex to deploy in production. Utexo abstracts that complexity by providing a single API layer, allowing payment operators to route USDT settlement over Bitcoin-native rails without managing underlying technical trade-offs or changing custody workflows. Chris Hutchinson, Co-founder of Utexo, explained, "We built Utexo so that USDT could move on Bitcoin the way money is supposed to move: instantly, privately, with no surprises on costs."
The infrastructure enables the first-ever availability of USDT over the Lightning Network, with fees that are fixed and known in advance, regardless of network conditions. Settlement costs are paid in USDT and do not fluctuate with congestion. Transactions settle atomically and privately, anchored to Bitcoin's security model and completed in under one second. Unlike public transaction graphs on other networks, Utexo prioritizes private execution with only encrypted transactions written on-chain, preventing disclosure of counterparties' payment flows.
Utexo's offerings are designed for payment service providers, exchanges, wallets, high-frequency trading firms, and platforms already moving large volumes of USDT for merchant settlement, payouts, and cross-border transfers. The go-to-market strategy focuses on routing existing USDT flows onto Bitcoin as infrastructure catches up with operational needs. With stablecoins increasingly replacing legacy payment rails, Utexo makes Bitcoin a viable settlement layer for dollar-denominated payments, bringing Tether's vision for native USDT on Bitcoin into production.
For more information on Utexo's Bitcoin-native USDT settlement infrastructure and upcoming integrations, visit https://utexo.com/ and follow on X, https://x.com/utexocom.
