Utexo, a Bitcoin-native execution and settlement layer for stablecoin payments, has raised $7.5 million in a seed round co-led by Tether, Big Brain Holdings, and Portal Ventures, with participation from Franklin Templeton, Maven11 Capital, Fulgur Ventures, and others. The funding will support the launch of infrastructure that enables native USDT settlement directly over Bitcoin and the Lightning Network, addressing long-standing operational needs for stablecoin payments.
Bitcoin has always been central to Tether’s vision for USDT, but production-ready infrastructure was missing. Utexo was founded to build that solution, providing a single API layer that abstracts the complexity of Lightning Network and RGB protocols. This allows payment operators to route USDT settlement over Bitcoin-native rails without managing technical trade-offs or rewriting user experiences.
“What has been missing is production-ready infrastructure that makes Bitcoin-native stablecoin settlement viable at scale,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “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.”
The infrastructure offers 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 or blockspace demand. Transactions settle atomically and privately, anchored to Bitcoin’s security model, and are 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 and wallet addresses. This approach allows partners to move stablecoin volume without exposure to fee volatility, congestion risk, or weaker trust assumptions associated with bridges and wrapped assets.
“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. “Utexo combines Bitcoin, Lightning, and RGB into a usable payment stack. 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.”
Utexo’s infrastructure is 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. Rather than bootstrapping new L2 solutions, Utexo focuses on routing existing USDT flows onto Bitcoin as infrastructure catches up with operational needs.
“For the first time, wallets will be able to offer their users free USDT transactions,” said Viktor Ihnatiuk, Co-founder of Utexo. “Utexo provides a built-in growth flywheel: wallets grow their user base, while USDT bootstraps adoption on Bitcoin. The divorce between the two most important digital assets is finally over.”
With stablecoins increasingly replacing legacy payment rails worldwide, Utexo makes it possible for Bitcoin to function as a viable settlement layer for dollar-denominated payments. For more information, visit https://utexo.com/ and follow on X at https://x.com/utexocom.
