Tether, a stable coin with multi-billion dollar market capitalization, has been accused of market manipulation and misrepresenting to customers their USD reserves to back every USD Tether in circulation with the equivalent amount held in other bank accounts. They allegedly have only 6-6% of cash in a bank account and the rest in highly volatile corporate paper.
Tether has been accused of falsely claiming that they have enough reserves to back every USD T in circulation with the equivalent amount of corresponding fiat currency held by Tether and safely deposited in other bank accounts. They have been accused of lying to the public and misrepresenting the US dollar reserves they have to their customers and the market.
The podcast discusses the complexity of stablecoins, specifically their classification as securities, and the potential for fraud with large amounts of stablecoins held as investments.
The stability of stablecoins can be improved by making them 100% dollar backed, as Jeremy Lair is doing at Circle. The CFTC's recent fine on two companies highlights the need for transparency and accuracy in regulation and fines.