Tether Slams Bloomberg for 'Misinformation'
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Tether Slams Bloomberg for 'Misinformation'

2 года назад

The giant stablecoin issuer attacked the story casting doubt on whether it has the $69 billion it says backs the value of USDT.

Tether Slams Bloomberg for 'Misinformation'

Содержание

Tether came out swinging at a Bloomberg article published today that casts doubt on the $69 billion stablecoin issuer’s finances.
In a statement on its website, Tether trashed the Bloomberg Businessweek article, saying:

“It’s another tired attempt to undermine a market leader whose track record of innovation, liquidity, and success speaks for itself… the reporter refuses to let the facts get in the way.”

Concerns and outright accusations have long been made in the crypto community that Tether does not have the funds its claims backs up the value of its $1 stablecoin, USDT, on a “one-to-one” basis. 
For years, the company, which also owns the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, dodged requests for an outside audit of its finances, only producing them after settling a lawsuit by New York’s attorney general for $18.5 million.
In the article — Anyone Seen Tether’s Billions? — reporter Zeke Faux wrote:

“It was hard to believe that people had sent $69 billion in real U.S. dollars to a company that seemed to be practically quilted out of red flags.”

Tether, for its part, says that “all tokens are fully backed,” and that it is “fostering a revolution in financial inclusion, transforming a model that doesn’t work in a modern world.”

The company adds that the Bloomberg article: 

“Does nothing more than attempt to perpetuate a false and aging story arc about Tether based on innuendo and misinformation, shared by disgruntled individuals with no involvement with or direct knowledge of the business’s operations.”

Disgruntled Individuals

The story relies on several former Tether partners, among them John Betts, who ran Nobel Bank, a small Puerto Rican bank it worked with in 2017. While saying it had the funds it claimed when it was a customer of his, Betts said of Tether: 

“It’s not a stablecoin, it’s a high-risk offshore hedge fund. Even their own banking partners don’t know the extent of their holdings, or if they exist.”

Tether responded that it fired Betts and that he is being sued for “enrich[ing] himself at Noble’s expense.”

The article also dives deep into Tether’s leadership, particularly CFO Giancarlo Devasini, who it claims really runs the company. It calls him:

“A former plastic surgeon from Italy who was once described on Tether’s website as the founder of a successful electronics business. The only reference to him that turned up in a search of Italian newspapers showed he was once fined for selling counterfeit Microsoft software.”

Tether replied:

“This story works hard to discredit Giancarlo Devasini and Tether’s executives with sources that are far from credible.”

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