Real-world asset (RWA) protocol stUSDT has begun winding down operations, nearly three years after reaching a $2.3 billion total value locked (TVL), ending rewards and opening a six-month redemption window for tokenholders.
The team said that interest accrual on stUSDT ended on Saturday, with holders of stUSDT and its wrapped version, wstUSDT, able to redeem through its official portal until May 14, 2027. The team said requests submitted after the deadline will be handled through customer support in monthly batches through August 2027.
The team did not provide a reason for the shutdown but said all underlying assets remain fully backed. Holders with tokens on exchanges or DeFi platforms must transfer them to personal wallets before redeeming.
Cointelegraph reached out to stUSDT for more information but did not receive a response before publication.
Meanwhile, JustLend DAO said it would phase out supply and borrowing functions for its wstUSDT market as part of the transition.
Launched in July 2023 on Tron, stUSDT allowed users to deposit USDT and earn yields from investments in real-world assets, including short-term government bonds. The protocol later expanded to Ethereum.
According to DefiLlama data, stUSDTs TVL peaked at about $2.3 billion in November 2023 before declining substantially in subsequent years. It stood at about $8.6 million on Sunday, down from roughly $60 million a year earlier.
Despite its name, stUSDT is not affiliated with stablecoin issuer Tether. In September 2023, Tether denied any affiliation with stUSDT, saying the protocol was an independent project.