A potential criminal case is now under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice for a possible offense conducted years ago.
This isn’t the first time Tether has received accusations of illegitimate activities. In fact, prosecutors have been probing the company since 2018. Several executives have received letters from authorities notifying them of being under investigation during the last months.
USDT, Tether’s token, is commonly known for being used to trade bitcoin. After the news was disclosed on Monday, the price of BTC fell about $1,000 in a couple of hours. The drop followed a thriving weekend where bitcoin’s price reached $40,539.39, the largest gain in over a month.
Tether’s executives are under investigation from prosecutors on whether they have committed bank fraud or not. The U.S. Department of Justice is scrutinizing if these individuals did reveal to banks that the transactions were linked to digital currency or kept the information hidden.
“Tether routinely has an open dialogue with law enforcement agencies, including the DOJ, as part of our commitment to cooperation and transparency.”
Do you know what Tether is and how it works?
Tether was launched in November 2014 by Bitcoin Foundation director Brock Pierce, along with Craig Sellars and Reeve Collins. They aimed to create a link between crypto and fiat currencies, offering balance, openness, and minimal transaction charges through blockchain technology.
Tether is a type of cryptocurrency called stablecoin created to keep valuations stable and not affected by market swings. Unlike the majority of digital assets that have a limited amount of tokens, Tether hasn’t. New coins can be issued the moment customers buy them by depositing the fiat currency in Tether’s bank account.
Tether was launched on the Bitcoin blockchain via a platform used for creating and trading digital assets of Bitcoin, called Omni Layer protocol. Thanks to Omni, Tether’s ledger is deposited on the Bitcoin blockchain, and the Omni Explorer grants users to view their transactions there.
