Binance to Switch Tether Addresses from Omni to ERC-20

Major cryptocurrency exchange Binance has announced that it is switching from Omni-based addresses to ERC-20-based addresses in customer wallets for the stablecoin tether (USDT), according to an official announcement on July 3.

In order to make the switch, Binance says that there is a 30-minute downtime planned for USDT withdrawals and deposits on July 4, beginning at 08:00 a.m. (UTC).

The announcement notes that Ethereum’s ERC-20 based addresses will be the standard from now on, and exchange users will not be able to withdraw Omni-based USDT; however, Omni-based USDT can still be deposited by sending tether to old Omni-based USDT addresses on Binance.

The crypto exchange Poloniex also announced support for ERC-20-based USDT deposits on July 3. Poloniex will also offer deposit and withdrawal options for Omni addresses, alongside Ethereum and Tron. 

According to Poloniex, using Ethereum addresses for withdrawals and deposits is faster and cheaper than relying on the Omni network. 

As previously reported by Cointelegraph, the Huobi added support for ERC-20 USDT addresses in February. Huobi opted to retain support for the original bitcoin (BTC)-based Omni Layer Protocol addresses for USDT.

Huobi’s press release also claimed that Ethereum-based Tether “has a much smoother and faster deposit/withdrawal process.”