Tether USDt

Date Launched|  November 2014 

Founders| Jan Ludovicus van der Velde 

Type| Stablecoin, ERC-20

USDT, launched by Bitfinex, is a cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value equivalent to $1 USD. It is asserted that each USDT token is backed by 1 US Dollar, held in the Tether Limited reserve fund. USDT has become a favored choice among crypto investors seeking a convenient method to reduce their exposure to cryptocurrency without converting into USD.

The individual heading Tether is JL van der Velde, who also serves as the CEO of the well-known exchange, Bitfinex. Bitfinex holds the distinction of being the first exchange to introduce Tether on its trading platform. Over time, USDT has gained widespread adoption, and now it is supported by nearly all major cryptocurrency exchanges.

Controversy

The Controversial USDT: Unverified Reserves and Regulatory Scrutiny

The Tether company has consistently asserted that each USDT issued is fully backed by $1 USD in their bank account. However, the lack of a public audit of their bank account has raised concerns and drew the attention of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which issued subpoenas to Tether on December 6, 2017.

The controversy surrounding USDT further intensified due to its presence on the Ethereum blockchain. Many users have observed instances where the Tether company released substantial amounts of USDT in short periods. Such actions have sparked suspicions, with some considering USDT a potential time bomb that could trigger the next major cryptocurrency crash. Prominent economist Nouriel Roubini has been among those expressing such concerns.

Rename

Tether used to be called Realcoin, and was rebranded in November 2014 to Tether. This was done to avoid confusion that Tether is an altcoin.

Tether used to be called Realcoin, and was rebranded in November 2014 to Tether. This was done to avoid confusion that Tether is an altcoin.