A spotlight on Tether

The Justice Department announced on Tuesday that U.S. law enforcement seized over 94,000 Bitcoins from a New York-based tech entrepreneur and his aspiring-rapper wife. The crypto seizure, related to a 2016 hack, was the biggest of all time—worth nearly $4 billion—and raises the question of who gets to keep all those Bitcoins. In many seizures, the government will return the funds to victims. That's what happens when law enforcement nabs a swindler who has defrauded senior citizens or hacked a ba...

Tether, the most widely traded crypto asset in the market (even more than Bitcoin), yesterday hit the $50 billion mark in terms of market cap. It’s an impressive milestone for the controversial stablecoin: just in February it stood at $30 billion.  What’s more, there’s now more Tether (USDT) being used on Tron’s blockchain than on Ethereum: $1.6 billion-worth more, to be exact. Right now, the amount of Tether on Tron is $26 billion; on Ethereum it is $24.4 billion, according to Coin Metrics data...

It may surprise some of you to hear that the dominant cryptocurrency in the market today isn’t named “Bitcoin.” Tether (USDT), a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, is the backbone of the entire crypto economy. It is far and away the most widely traded crypto asset around, and responsible for the vast majority of trading volume. Within the last 24 hours, for instance, Bitcoin recorded approximately $51 billion in volume; Tether clocked in $89 billion. But the market’s most important coin is also...

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s chief economist wants stablecoin issuers to be regulated. And for their own good. Charles Calomiris, who oversees the OCC's Economics Department, made the remarks in a new paper, “Chartering the FinTech Future.”  In it, he argues that the “traditional chartered banking system wallows in a state of unprofitability and inefficiency” and that new fintech institutions are coming into existence, and proving useful on leading us “down a path of substanti...

Rohan Grey, the legal scholar who helped draft the controversial Stablecoin Tethering and Bank Licensing Enforcement (STABLE) Act with Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, wants you to know that he cares about anonymous digital cash—but he’s not about to give a free pass to those who he believes pose a systemic risk to the US monetary system. Grey, an assistant professor at Willamette University College of Law, has worked with Rep. Tlaib to draft major financial regulatory reform bills, including the Pu...

Tether, a US dollar-backed stablecoin, has reached a total of $19 billion in market cap. In other words, there are over $19 billion US dollars that have been exchanged for Tether thus far.  It’s been a tumultuous day for the crypto industry, with the community still reeling from a major Bitcoin price crash that occurred overnight, sinking Bitcoin by $3,000. But, as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies decline, Tether—the world’s biggest stablecoin—is making gains.  According to Tether’s official...

The United States Department of Justice yesterday unsealed documents about a Latin American drug-smuggling, money-laundering bust, in part facilitated by the US dollar-pegged stablecoin, Tether.  Six were arrested, five of them born in China and living in Latin America or the US; one lived in Hong Kong. A Virginia court filed charges against Xizhi Li (aka “Z,” “AKA “Piglet”); Jianxing Chen (aka “Big Brother Heng”, aka “John”); Jiayu Chen (aka “John’s Brother in-law”); Jingyuan Li; Eric Yong Woo;...

Tether (USDT) today announced that its market capitalization has broken $12 billion as the demand for stablecoins continues to rise.  Stablecoins, like Tether, are growing in popularity in the crypto space. Growth can be attributed to their unique ability to safeguard investors from volatility, as well as offering on-ramps or off-ramps for crypto transactions. Tether’s immense market cap increase represents a 140% jump—an addition of $7 billion—in market cap since March 2020, leaving all other s...

A New York court today denied a request from crypto exchange Bitfinex to scupper an investigation by the state’s Attorney General, who alleges that Bitfinex used its sister company, the stablecoin giant Tether, to hide a near-$1 billion hole in its finances. Despite Bitfinex’s protestations, the court said that it does have jurisdiction, as does the NYAG. Stuart Hoegner, Bitfinex's General Counsel, said in a statement: "We have read the decision issued today by the Appellate Division of the New...

Tether just joined crypto’s 10-figure club. The most-used stablecoin in the cryptocurrency market now has $10 billion worth of its USDT coins circulating through crypto’s various markets, according to data from Messari. This $10 billion dollar valuation puts it in the company of Bitcoin and Ethereum as one of three cryptocurrencies with a 10-figure market cap. It also further cements Tether as the clear market leader in the realm of stablecoins—meaning cryptocurrencies that are “pegged” to a f...

Tether and Bitfinex CTO Paolo Ardoino today revealed why Tether has minted $5 billion in the last six months, more than at any point in the company’s history. After slowly climbing the market cap rankings, Tether has now risen above XRP to reach third place in the crypto rankings, with a market cap of $9 billion. But what’s behind this massive surge in demand? Speaking on the “On The Brink With Castle Island” podcast, Ardonio said demand has been driven by exchanges craving cash, especially afte...

A stablecoin boom that’s propelled their total market cap past $9.5 billion this year could signal bullish Bitcoin sentiment ahead of its imminent halving, experts told Decrypt. According to crypto data-tracker DAppTotal, the total market cap for stablecoins topped $9.5 billion last month, with Tether (USDT), the oldest, largest, and most widely adopted stablecoin, minting over a billion dollars in April alone. Investors “hoard” stablecoins pre-halving Ganesh Natraj, an assistant professor of fi...

Richard Levin was right. For years, the fintech attorney and former Wall Street compliance officer has been predicting that class-action suits would be brought against companies and people involved in unregulated initial coin offerings, or ICOs. “We have only likely begun to see the beginning of class-action lawsuits filed relating to blockchain-related companies or companies that participated in ICOs,” he co-wrote in a March 2018 blog post. “We believe it is highly likely other issuers of token...

The US dollar stablecoin Tether (USDT) is the eighth cryptocurrency in the world when ranked by market cap but there’s an argument it should be seen as the biggest coin. According to data from Messari Pro, Tether now accounts for 48% of all cryptocurrency trading volume. In the last 24 hours, $1.8 billion of USDT traded hands, out of a total of $3.74 billion. In comparison, the number one coin by market cap, Bitcoin (BTC), made up just $1.2 billion. Top 7 crypto companies based in tax havens Mes...

The CEO of crypto company Circle, Jeremy Allaire, denounced stablecoin competitor Tether in a tweetstorm today.  Allaire said that Tether is “an attractive option as an unregulated offshore USD shadow banking solution for China and Asia. It's greatest feature is its non-compliance and opacity.” Indeed, in September 2019, Bitfinex, the Hong-Kong crypto exchange that shares its CEO with stablecoin issuer Tether, launched a new stablecoin, CHNt, which is tied to the offshore Chinese Yuan. (2/3) Me...

Tether isn’t taking yesterday’s New York State Supreme Court ruling lying down. In a statement issued today, the stablecoin issuer responded to Justice Joel M. Cohen’s order directing the New York Attorney General (NYAG) to continue with its case against iFinex. "We appreciate Justice Cohen’s consideration of our motion in late July and his order released yesterday. While we are disappointed in the decision on our motion to dismiss, we will continue to vigorously defend against any action by the...

The New York Supreme Court has ordered the New York Office of the Attorney General (NYAG) to continue their investigation and prosecution of iFinex, the parent company of cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex and stablecoin issuer Tether. In a court order filed on August 19, New York State Supreme Court Judge Joel M. Cohen dismissed a motion by iFinex to toss the suit due to the matter being outside of the NYAG's jurisdiction. Olta Andoni, head of Ziliak Law’s blockchain practice and an adjunct profe...

The New York Supreme Court will take a further 90 days to deliberate over whether cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex ought to hand over documents to the New York Attorney General. But despite the delay, Bitfinex’s inability to convince the court to dismiss its case on Monday could be viewed as a bad sign for the crypto exchange, as it effectively extends the injunction. “I don’t blame the judge,” said Olta Andoni, head of Ziliak Law’s blockchain practice and an adjunct professor at the Chicago-Ken...

Bitcoin development firm Blockstream has launched a new version of the stablecoin Tether (USDT) on its nascent “Liquid Network,” a “sidechain” protocol designed to link together exchanges.  “Liquid” tethers will be better and faster and more secure, according to Blockstream CSO Samson Mow, who over the weekend described critical reports on Tether as “clickbait hit pieces masquerading as impartial investigative reporting.” Starting today, Liquid USDT will be available for deposit and withdrawal o...

Cryptocurrency sister companies Bitfinex and Tether have issued a response to the New York Attorney General’s Office, describing allegations that they illegally served customers in New York as “inaccurate” and “misleading,” while insisting that Bitfinex is well on the way to fulfilling its obligations to creditors affected by the seizure of hundreds of millions of dollars of commingled corporate and customer funds in 2018.   The response comes two weeks after the attorney general’s office put fo...