Strike, the startup building a bitcoin-based payment system in El Salvador, is phasing out its use of Tether’s USDT stablecoin as a U.S. dollar substitute, CEO Jack Mallers said. “Tether is no longer a part of anything,” Mallers said on an episode of the What Bitcoin Did podcast released last week. “Tether was part of the plan originally because it had to be, because I didn’t have a choice.” Mallers’ remarks – which come less than a month after he introduced El Salvador president Nayib Bukele to the Bitcoin community at a Miami conference – may come as a relief to those concerned about USDT’s backing. (full story)