Tether’s CEO broke the stock that supports the USDT stablecoin
Tether CEO Paolo Arduino presented a list of reserve assets backing the company's Tether-USD stablecoin (USDT) at an event in Lugano, Switzerland, amid allegations that the company is under investigation by the United States Department of Justice and Treasury.
Arduino claims that Tether holds approximately $100 billion in US Treasuries, over 82,000 Bitcoin (BTC), approximately $5.5 billion using current market prices, and 48 tons of gold.
Amidst the fear, uncertainty and doubt created by a recent Wall Street Journal article, Tether's CEO highlighted the asset's stockpile by saying that US authorities are investigating the firm for alleged violations of anti-money laundering laws and US sanctions.
Tether tokens in circulation. Source: Tether
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The Wall Street Journal ruffles feathers in the crypto world
After the article was published on October 25, Tether's CEO loudly denied the claims, saying, “As we told the WSJ, there is no indication that Tether is under investigation. The WSJ is rehashing the old hype. Full stop.” Arduino also highlighted Tether's history of working with law enforcement agencies to recover stolen digital assets and stop illegal transactions.
“We are in regular and direct contact with law enforcement officials to prevent rogue nations, terrorists and criminals from abusing USDT. We are aware that the article is being investigated as false. Accordingly, we can confirm the allegations. The article is unequivocally false.”
As a stablecoin firm, Tether has helped law enforcement recover nearly $109 million since 2014 in cases of fraud, sanctions evasion, and cybercrime.
Arduino has recently criticized US crypto regulatory policies like other countries, which have caused many innovative digital asset companies to move out of the United States to more favorable jurisdictions. However, Tether's CEO expressed his belief that this will change following the 2024 US presidential election.
Tether's USDT hit a market capitalization of $120 billion in October 2024. Investors and speculators are seeing this as a big sign for the crypto markets that prices may rise in the coming weeks and months.
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