Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin in the world, USDT has refuted a recent report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that claimed the company had ties to companies using shell companies and forged documents to access the banking system.
Leaked documents and the WSJ
The report in the WSJwhich was published on March 3, cited leaked documents and emails purporting to confirm that Tether and sister company Bitfinex had falsified sales invoices and transactions and relied on third parties to open bank accounts that would otherwise have been inaccessible to Tether.
Tether, of course, did not let this go unanswered. In response to the report, Tether issued a statement decrying the allegations as “stale” and “completely false and misleading.” According to Tether, they always adhere to the rules and there is no reason to say that this should not be the case. Tether also stressed that it is a proud partner of authorities in the United States and abroad.
Paolo Ardoino, the CTO of Tether and Bitfinex, tweeted a few days ago that the WSJ’s report contained “misinformation and inaccuracies” and implied that the journalists at the WSJ were unprofessional.
I’m at the PlanB anniversary in #lugano
So much energy and people excited to talk about #Bitcoin
While I was on stage I heard some clown honks, pretty sure was WSJ.
As always tons of misinformation and inaccuracies. Poor guys, must be difficult be them but need better media.— Paolo Ardoino 🍐 (@paoloardoino) March 3, 2023
Again Tether FUD?
The WSJ report, of course, makes some pretty serious allegations. According to the report, Tether would avoid consciously maintaining ties with shadowy parties. At the same time, according to the WSJ, ending these ties would pose an existential threat to Tether. After all, the WSJ suggests that Tether can only access the banking system through these constructs.
Whether Tether or the WSJ is right here is hard to say at this point. We do know that Tether regularly comes under fire from different angles. While USDT is still the largest stablecoin, trust in Tether as a company may not be what it once was. Nevertheless, millions of crypto investors and traders use USDT on a daily basis and really big problems have never really happened.
