On February 16, Tether shared that they are working together with law enforcement agencies all over the world to act as a proactive measure to prevent the misuse of stablecoin technological advancements.
Caroline Hill, a Senior Director at Circle, made statements during a House Financial Services Committee hearing entitled “Crypto Crime in Context Part ll: Examining Approaches for Combating Unlawful Activity.” In response to these statements, she urged the authorities to investigate the possible role that Tether plays in funding terrorist organizations.
During his response to the inquiries that Congressman Wiley Nickel of North Carolina had regarding Tether, Hill gave the impression that he had directly confronted the stablecoin competitor Tether.
“I trust that the Treasury Department is thoroughly examining this matter, considering Tether’s standing and the evidence we have suggesting their involvement in funding terrorism”
Commenting on this matter, Paolo Ardoino, the CEO of Tether, expressed:
The act of deceiving Congress is a shocking demonstration of desperation, and those who engage in such behavior ought to feel ashamed of themselves. Disseminating lies and engaging in a never-ending cycle of repetition will never result in any advancement.
Ardoino emphasized that his company has taken extensive measures to address illegal cryptocurrency operations and is committed to continuing to fight against these operations.
JPMorgan Says That US Regulators Have the Ability to “Exert Control” on Tether
Analysts from JPMorgan believe that the American regulatory authorities, such as the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), exert a significant amount of influence over Tether’s offshore activities.
As an example of such regulations, the analysts cited the sanction that the OFAC imposed on Tornado Cash, which is a cryptocurrency mixer that operates on the Ethereum blockchain. The OFAC imposed sanctions on the protocol in 2022, which resulted in Tether freezing assets in wallets that were found to violate the sanctions.
Tether informed that the company complies with sanctions imposed by the Treasury OFAC and collaborates with law enforcement agencies in a variety of regions.
“We adhere to Treasury OFAC SDN sanctions and collaborate with law enforcement authorities in 19 different regions worldwide, including establishing direct partnerships with the US DOJ and US Secret Service,”
– Paolo Ardoino
Experts also predicted that the forthcoming regulations on stablecoins could reduce the appeal of Tether due to the fact that it adheres to KYC/AML requirements and is perceived to be opaque. Through further investigation of the DeFi industry, it has been discovered that USDT is utilized in a variety of protocols as both collateral and liquidity.
Furthermore, the analysts argued that the current disclosures made by Tether are not sufficient to alleviate concerns, highlighting the low rating that S&P Global has assigned to the company’s ability to maintain its peg to the US dollar.
In the previous month, a significant financial institution voiced its disapproval of Tether’s control in the cryptocurrency industry. This prompted Ardoino to express his anger, and he condemned the bank for its apparent hypocrisy.
