Utexo, the team behind Bitcoin-native yield and payment infrastructure via the RGB protocol, announced the appointment of Federico Tenga to its advisory board. Tenga, a leading authority on RGB and a key architect of its development, currently serves as R&D Strategist within the Bitfinex and Tether ecosystem, where he leads development of the RGB protocol implementation, the RGB Lightning node, and critical developer tooling for Bitcoin-based assets.
“Federico is one of the people building the RGB ecosystem at the protocol level,” said Viktor Ihnatiuk, CEO of Utexo. “His decision to join Utexo’s advisory board reinforces how closely aligned we are with the future direction of Bitcoin. Federico brings deep technical expertise, and his insight will help ensure Utexo continues to push forward Bitcoin-native stablecoin infrastructure.”
Tenga’s work sits at the core of the infrastructure Utexo is built upon. As a primary contributor to RGB, he leads the Bitfinex team developing key components, including the RGB Lightning node and Iris Wallet, a mobile application that provides a user-friendly interface for interacting with RGB-based assets. His team also created rgb-lib, an open-source Rust library that simplifies development on RGB, supporting the broader ecosystem Utexo operates within.
His appointment strengthens Utexo’s strategic alignment with Tether, which co-led the company’s $7.5 million seed round. Tenga’s role within the Bitfinex and Tether ecosystem creates a direct technical connection between Utexo and the teams advancing USDT’s integration on Bitcoin via RGB. “Utexo represents one of the most compelling real-world implementations of RGB today,” said Federico Tenga. “The team is focused on solving payment and liquidity challenges using Bitcoin as the base layer. The opportunity to help shape how stablecoins operate natively on Bitcoin at both the protocol and application level is compelling. I look forward to contributing to Utexo’s growth within the RGB ecosystem.”
Prior to his current role, Tenga co-founded Chainside, an Italian Bitcoin payment processor that enabled merchants to accept Bitcoin, including through a partnership with itTaxi, Italy’s largest taxi network. He also contributed to blockchain policy as a member of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development’s national blockchain task force. Tenga’s involvement provides Utexo with direct visibility into the evolution of RGB, including emerging standards, performance improvements, and developer tooling.
Utexo is a Bitcoin-native execution and settlement layer for stablecoin payments, combining Lightning Network’s instant execution with RGB’s privacy-preserving asset issuance. Its API and SDK enable payment operators to process USDT transactions instantly with predictable costs and full and private execution. With Tenga joining its advisory board, Utexo continues to expand its technical leadership across Bitcoin, stablecoins, and financial infrastructure.
