Tether and rhino.fi recently announced a strategic collaboration between the two companies to improve the user experience for USDT users in the DeFi ecosystem. The stablecoin issuer announced this in a January 16 blog post on Tether.to. The two companies hope that this partnership will improve cross-chain trading and provide easier access to the USDT stablecoin.
This partnership comes amid heightened scrutiny of the USDT stablecoin by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. The Commission recently released a report stating that the USDT stablecoin facilitates illicit financing and money laundering in Southeast Asia.
The new partnership with rhino.fi is not surprising, as rhino.fi has evolved from its previous sister company. rhino.fi now operates as a self-managed exchange distributing user tokens across multiple open source smart contracts.
Tether pursues wider DeFi USDT adoption.
The Tether-rhino.fi collaboration is expected to make USDT more accessible to layer 1 (L1) and layer 2 (L2) blockchains. This is a difficult achievement for the current #1 stablecoin. Rhino currently supports 16 blockchains, including Ethereum, Avalanche, and Polygon. This transaction should facilitate the expansion of the USDT token’s reach across multiple blockchains.
Will Harborne, CEO of rhino.fi, commented on the alliance, explaining that USDT is the most widely adopted stablecoin for real-world use cases. He also mentioned how this collaboration will help the presence of stablecoins in the DeFi space by enabling them to be used across multiple chains.
Additionally, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino commented on the transaction in a statement, expressing excitement and optimism about the potential of the collaboration and the future of USDT in the DeFi space.
“We are very excited about our strategic collaboration with Rhino.fi as it represents an important step in expanding the accessibility, efficiency and utility of USDT across diverse blockchain ecosystems,” Tether CEO said via the Tether.to website. Yes.
It is clear from the two CEOs’ statements that the goal of this alliance is to strengthen USDT’s presence on various blockchains. Interestingly, neither CEO mentioned the benefits of rhino.fi, and from all indications, there may not be much of a benefit to Rhino.fi (or so it seems).
Why the Tether-rhino.fi partnership is always a work in progress
rhino.fi was previously DiversiFi, which is also Ethfinex, a subsidiary of the stablecoin issuer’s parent company, Bitfinex. When Ethfinex spun off from parent company Bitfinex with the intention of creating a ‘trustless’ cryptocurrency exchange, it rebranded as DiversiFi. The company also maintained a close working relationship with its former parent company until recently rebranding to rhino.fi.
The new, largely one-sided alliance between Bitfinex’s flagship company, Tether, and its former spin-off company has led rhino.fi observers to begin theorizing about a highly publicized split, along with rumors to the contrary. DiversiFi and later rhino.fi later operated as separate companies, but the company maintained a relationship with Bitfinex and always left open the possibility of rejoining in the future.
As absurd as that theory sounds, it may not be that far from the truth. A partnership with rhino.fi requires months, maybe even years of planning. Rhino didn’t show up for what it wanted in exchange for facilitating access to numerous blockchains.
What to expect from the deal
Rhino.fi already has a blockchain bridge in place, allowing existing users to easily port their USDT tokens to other blockchains. It will take a few more weeks for rhino.fi to complete the bridge. But there was no need for that, thanks to an underground collaboration between the two companies before the announcement.
In addition to the bridge, USDT users can expect a variety of features to enhance their experience across different blockchains thanks to the partnership. Stay tuned for future announcements from either (or both) companies to find out what the new alliance means for you.
Why the Rhino.fi Alliance Will Win
The strategic partnership comes amid a dispute between UNODC and Tether over criticism of the USDT stablecoin in a recent report saying it facilitates “illicit financing and money laundering” in Southeast Asia.
Tether responded to the report by accusing the United Nations of willfully ignoring important progress in curbing cryptocurrency-related crimes. The stablecoin issuer also called for increased blockchain training for UN officials to drive informed regulatory discussions and combat cybercrime.