The first RGB bridge brings USDT from Ethereum to Bitcoin via the Lighting Network.

According to a recent press release sent to Bitcoin Magazine, the team behind Tricorn (now joined by Utexo) has completed the first RGB bridge on Bitcoin, making its debut by transferring Tether (USDT) from Ethereum to RGB. This marks the first issuance of USDT as an RGB asset on Bitcoin, allowing for instant settlement on RGB Lightning. The announcement stated: "This milestone enables Bitcoin to capture stablecoin liquidity while preserving privacy, self-custody, and the immutability of Bitcoin settlement." "With low fees and fast settlement speeds, it is designed using a peer-to-peer model." The bridge from Ethereum to RGB allows stablecoins and other digital assets to enter the Bitcoin ecosystem through RGB. Once bridged, assets will operate as RGB Tokens, capable of direct on-chain settlement or instant transfer using RGB Lightning. This innovation aims to bring high-capacity, stable liquidity to Bitcoin without relying on custodians or intermediaries. LNFI has announced plans to utilize this bridge to transfer USDT from Ethereum to RGB Lightning. "As our strategic partner, LNFI focuses on unlocking multi-asset decentralized finance on RGB Lightning and will securely bridge USDT from supported blockchains to the RGB Mainnet through Tricorn," the release noted. LNFI will use the bridged USDT as a Lightning Service Provider (LSP) on Astra Labs, enabling "instant, private, low-cost, trust-minimized stablecoin exchanges between supported blockchains and the RGB Lightning Network." By facilitating seamless asset transfers between EVM blockchains, RGB, and RGB Lightning, this integration paves the way for advanced DeFi, payment, and trading use cases. Notably, this release comes before Tether's official RGB issuance, bringing wrapped USDT liquidity to Bitcoin. The architecture of RGB is designed to focus on privacy and sovereignty—utilizing client-side validation and using Bitcoin as a settlement anchor. According to the release, assets are kept under user control and private by default, without the need for federations, validators, or coordinators. Developers can integrate the RGB bridge into wallets, marketplaces, and other protocols, allowing users to efficiently and privately bridge, hold, and trade assets like USDT on Bitcoin. The engineering team behind Tricorn is now part of Utexo, which is developing an interface for private Bitcoin DeFi using RGB. Utexo stated that it will soon provide simple tools for exchanging, transferring, and managing bridged assets, making this technology accessible to a broader audience. The Ethereum to RGB bridge is now open to developers and the tighter community, with other networks to be added soon for wider public access through Utexo.