cryptovest.com
Citing newly-obtained bank statements, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday that Tether (USDT), which is pegged at 1:1 with USD, is fully backed by fiat reserves, dispelling recent allegations that the stablecoins issued exceed the company’s holdings.
The documents, provided by an anonymous source with access to the company’s records and confirmed by an unnamed government official, show that Tether had $2.2 billion in its Noble Bank account as of January 31, 2018. CoinMarketCap data suggest that roughly the same amount of Tethers existed on that day.
Similar matching statements for September and October 2017 also point towards a correct pegging. The latest month for which information was available was July 2018, when Tether’s fiat bank balance was again equal to the amount of circulating USDT.
The bank statements however, do not show where the funds originated from nor their present location, as Tether has worked with several different banks in its three-year history.
Last month, Tether established a new banking relationship with Deltec Bank & Trust. The Bahama-based bank accepted Tether as a client after a detailed review of the company, including assessments of the project’s ability to maintain the “USD-peg at any moment”.
Last December, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) subpoenaed Tether and associated cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, with which they share a CEO, seeking proof that USDT is backed by a reserve of USD. While Tether and its developers were not accused of wrongdoing, the controversy persisted, underpinned by Tether’s refusal to be officially audited and reports alleging the stablecoin was linked to Bitcoin (BTC) price manipulation.
At the time of writing, USDT is changing hands at $1.01, slightly above its $1 peg and 0.19% up on the day. Its market cap stood at $1.87 billion, positioning the coin as the sixth-largest crypto asset in CoinMarketCap’s chart.