The Wall Street Journal: US Federal Authorities are Investigating Tether
According to a report from The Wall Street Journal, the U.S. federal government is investigating whether Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, has violated sanctions and anti-money laundering rules.
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WSJ: US Government Investigating Tether
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, the US federal government is investigating Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, for potential violations of sanctions and anti-money laundering rules.
The criminal investigation is being led by prosecutors from the Manhattan US Attorney's Office and aims to determine if cryptocurrencies like Tether are being used by third parties to fund illegal activities such as drug trafficking, terrorism, hacking, or to launder the proceeds of such activities.
The Treasury Department has been weighing whether to impose sanctions on Tether as the stablecoin USDT has been used by individuals and groups sanctioned by the US, including terrorist organizations like Hamas and bad actors from Russia. The report states that if the Treasury Department decides to sanction Tether, the focus would be on preventing Americans from engaging in business with Tether.
CEO Paolo Ardoino's Response
Tether's CEO Paolo Ardoino responded on Twitter:
There is no indication that Tether is under investigation. WSJ is just rehashing old news.
He also added that Tether regularly communicates with law enforcement officials to prevent rogue states, terrorists, and criminals from abusing USDT. If Tether were indeed under investigation as the article claims, the company would know, so the report is absolutely wrong.
Tether vs. Media Battle
Leading stablecoin Tether has long been engaged in battles with major media outlets. Bloomberg raised several doubts about Tether's reserve assets in October 2021 and published an article titled "Has Anyone Seen Tether's Billions?" Bloomberg and CoinDesk have also requested the New York Attorney General's Office to disclose relevant information about Tether and reveal discrepancies between the documents and what Tether claims. The Wall Street Journal has also published negative reports on Tether.
Tether's Battle with the Media! Documents reveal Tether's reserve assets involving Chinese company securities
Even Forbes published an article about Tether in August 2023, questioning its seemingly continuous growth but declining profits, and stating that the indicators used in its reports are inconsistent, maintaining its consistent style of confusion.
Breaking down the Forbes report: Tether's declining profits and the use of different indicators to confuse
However, every time Tether is attacked by the media, CEO Paolo Ardoino always steps in to refute and dismiss it as FUD. The market value of USDT recently surpassed $120 billion, reaching a new all-time high and accounting for 68% of the total stablecoin market value.