Tether In The Danger Zone: US Scrutiny Raises Concerns

In the past few years, a tug-of-war game has happened between the crypto market and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Concerns have arisen over the US regulator’s increased scrutiny of Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer. As per the latest interview with Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple, a company focused on effective cross-border payments, the US authorities now have their eyes on Tether.

Ripple, a fintech company based in the United States, is recognized for its effective cross-border payment services. However, since December 2020, this company has been embroiled in a lawsuit with the SEC.

The lawsuit is related to Ripple’s financial activities concerning the XRP Cryptocurrency.

SEC vs. Tether

In an interview with Chris Vasquez, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse expressed uncertainty about the potential impact of US regulatory actions against Tether, the largest stablecoin issuer, and described it as an “interesting one to watch.” He also criticized the SEC for being a “bully” targeting weaker entities in the crypto space.

Despite the agency’s efforts, he remains confident in the crypto industry’s resilience against regulatory actions, and he reiterated his belief that the crypto market has the potential to reach a market cap of $5 Trillion by the end of this year.

Garlinghouse’s comments on Tether coincide with Ripple’s plans to launch its stablecoin later this year.

Market watchers, investors etc are likely to perceive Garlinghouse’s statements as insider info. In case the regulator’s actions on Tether result in a SEC vs Ripplie like stand-off, USDT could take a hit.

Tether Froze 5.2 million USDT Tokens

Tether froze 5.2 million USDT on 12 Ethereum addresses, tagged as “USDT Banned Address” by MistTrack, a crypto tracking and compliance platform. These addresses may be money laundering addresses for phishing groups.

Tether has been actively freezing addresses associated with scammers and hackers. In November 2023, it announced the “largest-ever freeze of USDT in history” while teaming up with digital asset trading platform OKX.