To assuage critics and to abide by a legal settlement, Tether Holdings Limited, the issuer of the world’s largest stablecoin USDT, has released a report by an independent accountant, which found that Tether’s tokens are 100% backed by its reserves.
Fast facts
- In its review of Tether’s latest Consolidated Reserves Report, Cayman Island-based accounting firm Moore Cayman found Tether met its reporting obligations for the period ending June 30, 2021 and that it is “fairly stated.”
- Tether’s consolidated assets amounted to at least US$62,773,190,075 for the reporting period, while the company’s consolidated total liabilities were US$62,628,932,116, of which $62,610,829,196 were related to USDT, according to Moore Cayman, an auditing firm in the Cayman Islands.
- Tether’s own CRR report disclosed the majority of Tether’s assets were cash and cash equivalents, making up US$53.3 billion of the company’s total. Of this amount, US$30.8 billion was commercial paper and certificates of deposit, US$6.2 billion was cash and bank deposits and US$15.2 billion was treasury bills. Tether’s complete asset breakdown in its latest CRR form was a marked change from its previous quarterly report, which drew criticism for its limited disclosure.
- June’s CRR was the latest of Tether’s quarterly reserve disclosure reports ordered by the New York State Attorney General in February as part of a US$18.5million dollar settlement with the company. The investigation looked into whether Tether and sister firm Bitfinex sought to cover up a US$850 million loss in funds. As part of the settlement agreement, neither company admitted wrongdoing but were required to submit quarterly reports on their reserves for two years.
- Despite Tether’s settlement with the New York Attorney General, legal troubles continue to plague the company. Tether is under scrutiny — this time by U.S. federal investigators — for allegedly concealing crypto transactions several years ago, according to a report by Bloomberg last month that cited three anonymous sources with apparent knowledge of the case. For its part, Tether claimed Bloomberg was “repackaging stale claims as ‘news’” using anonymous sources, and decried the report as part of a “continued effort to discredit Tether.”