Stablecoin issuer Tether has unveiled a wallet development kit allowing developers and businesses to integrate non-custodian wallets for Bitcoin and USDT into apps and websites.

According to a Nov. 11 announcement, the WDK wallet development kit is designed for both human and digital beings like AI agents, robots, and autonomous systems.

Tether’s newly unveiled software, WDK, honors the “groundbreaking vision” of the 2008 Bitcoin white paper. WDK is designed to strengthen the firm’s commitment to the core principles of “decentralized and permissionless financial systems,” equipping developers with tools that prioritize “user sovereignty” and control, the announcement added.

The kit promises a “non-custodial” and “modular & customizable” approach, which Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino describes as essential for building “programmable, open, and resilient monetary systems.”

In a Nov. 11 X post, Ardoino announced that the kit will initially support Bitcoin and USDT, with plans to expand to all blockchains “supported by Tether’s stablecoins,” adding that WDK will also expand to offer UI templates to streamline wallet deployment across platforms.

Tether is currently the world’s largest stablecoin with a market cap of over $124 billion. The majority of Tether’s circulating supply is held on Tron and Ethereum, accounting for 46.8% and 42.31% of the total, respectively, according to DefiLlama.

Tether’s moves in the AI sector

The launch of the AI-supported development kit aligns with Tether’s commitment to embracing AI technology. It follows the establishment of an AI division in March, where the company aims to develop open-source AI models to tackle real-world challenges.

In an August interview, Ardoino said that decentralization could offer crucial independence in AI, which he described as “heavily politicized.” He noted at the time that Tether’s investment approach is focused on supporting AI projects aligned with decentralization and financial freedom, prioritizing ventures that challenge the centralized control of major tech players.

Last month, Tether unveiled its AI SDK, dubbed “Local AI,” during the Plan ₿ event in Lugano, Switzerland, offering a privacy-focused platform for running AI models locally on various devices.

Bhutan, the Himalayan kingdom renowned for its happiness index, has seen its Bitcoin holdings surge to over $1 billion as the crypto market rallies.

Arkham, in data shared via X on Nov. 11, revealed that the Royal Government of Bhutan’s total Bitcoin (BTC) holdings had surpassed the $1 billion mark. The blockchain intelligence and analytics platform’s post came as the flagship cryptocurrency soared amid massive bullish momentum.

Bhutan’s foray into crypto isn’t new, with the South Asia country having invested millions of dollars in digital assets before. The country also sought partnerships with Bitcoin miners and in May 2023, allocated 5% of its gross domestic product on mining the world’s most popular cryptocurrency.

In September this year, Bhutan’s BTC holdings increased to over 13,000 bitcoins with the total value at the time around $750 million. While the figure was much lower than huge holdings of the United States, China and the United Kingdom, Bhutan held more than El Salvador. Notably, El Salvador is the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.

According to Arkham, Bhutan now holds 12,568 BTC, valued at more than $1 billion as Bitcoin’s price crossed the $82,000 level. The current value of Bhutan’s BTC holdings stands at $1.08 billion.

This figure could rise further if Bitcoin’s price continues its upward momentum, potentially exceeding $86,000 amid market enthusiasm.

Bhutan’s strategy contrasts with that of Germany, which sold its entire 50,000 Bitcoin holdings earlier this year, contributing to selling pressure on BTC.

Additionally, former U.S. President Donald Trump pledged during his campaign to never sell U.S. Bitcoin holdings, vowing instead to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve.

Espresso, a blockchain project focused on cross-chain composability and backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, has announced that its confirmation layer is now live on mainnet.

The launch follows two years of research and development, five testnets, and integration plans with more than 20 chains. This milestone marks significant progress for the team as they work towards “making Ethereum (ETH) composable again,” the Espresso Systems team said in the announcement.

Espresso notes that its confirmation layer provides the infrastructure for chains to interact quickly and reliably, allowing rollups to achieve synchronous composability. This layer enables two composable chains to confirm their respective state transitions by reading each other’s transaction data.

“To achieve synchronous composability, chains need a shared source of truth they can use to quickly and reliably confirm the state transitions of other chains,” Espresso wrote.

According to the Espresso team, several ecosystem partners are prepared to integrate the confirmation layer. These partners include bridges, chains, stack providers, and Rollups-as-a-service (also known as RaaS) platforms.

Specific partners include Linux-powered rollups platform Cartesi, modular zero-knowledge stack chains Airchains, and Arbitrum creators OffChain Labs. Additional partners are bridge platform Across Protocol and RaaS provider AltLayer.

Espresso plans to roll out the mainnet in phases, gradually deploying functionality, onboarding launch partners, and decentralizing the node operator set. A roadmap outlines the main components scheduled for release throughout 2025.

The Espresso team raised $28 million in a series B round in March, led by VC platform a16z Crypto.