Tether's Lack of Third-Party Audits Raises Concerns of FTX-Like Liquidity Crisis | Coinspeaker

Tether’s Lack of Third-Party Audits Raises Concerns of FTX-Like Liquidity Crisis

Bhushan Akolkar By Bhushan Akolkar Julia Sakovich Edited by Julia Sakovich Updated 2 min read
Tether’s Lack of Third-Party Audits Raises Concerns of FTX-Like Liquidity Crisis
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Some market analysts think that Tether could also implode like FTX, if not audited duly by third-party agencies. This implosion would likely be tied to its banking partners.

Key Notes

  • Tether faces increasing regulatory scrutiny due to its 75% dominance in the stablecoin market.
  • Analysts, including Justin Bons, have raised alarms about the potential for a liquidity crisis similar to FTX.
  • While some experts, like Anndy Lian, argue that Tether is unlikely to fail due to its size, they emphasize that its centralized nature poses inherent risks.

USDT USDT $1.00 24h volatility: 0.1% Market cap: $119.57 B Vol. 24h: $47.96 B stablecoin issuer Tether has always attracted regulatory scrutiny over its operations, and more so since it dominates 75% of the overall stablecoin market. With a market cap of $119 billion Tether (USDT) is the largest stablecoin, and nearly three times the size of its immediate competitor USDC coin. Some market analysts have recently raised concerns about the possibility of an FTX-like liquidity crisis for the stablecoin giant. Justin Bons, founder of Cyber Capital, sparked the latest wave of concerns by expressing his belief that Tether could potentially be a bigger scam than FTX.

In his post last week on the X platform, he wrote:

“[Tether is] one of the biggest existential threats to crypto as a whole. As we have to trust they hold $118B in collateral without proof! Even after the CFTC fined Tether for lying about their reserves in 2021.”

Back in 2021, the US CFTC fined Tether a massive $41 million civil penalty for lying that they fully backed the USDT stablecoins with reserves. Over the last two years, the USDT market supply has further increased by 20% raising concerns as Tether now dominates 75% of the stablecoin market.

Some market analysts think that Tether could also implode like FTX, if not audited duly by third-party agencies. According to Sean Lee, co-founder of IDA Finance, while FTX collapsed due to its failure to meet $6 billion in customer withdrawals within three days, a potential Tether implosion would likely be tied to its banking partners.

Back during the crypto winter of May 2022, Tether facilitated more than $16.7 billion worth of USDT customer withdrawals swiftly within 10 days. On the other hand, Washington Mutual Bank failed to honor $16.5 billion worth of withdrawals within 10 days, back during the 2008 financial crisis.

Is Tether Too Big to Fail?

Some people think Tether is too big to fail. Anndy Lian, an author and blockchain expert, believes Tether is unlikely to encounter problems. However, he cautioned that large centralized entities can still present risks to the cryptocurrency space. Lian added:

“Cryptocurrencies were originally designed to operate without central control, promoting transparency, security, and user autonomy. However, Tether, as a centralized stablecoin issuer, holds significant influence over the crypto market due to its widespread use for trading and liquidity.”

Earlier this month, Tether made a massive investment of $100 million in the Latin American agricultural giant Adecoagro, while taking a 9.8% stake in the firm.

Disclaimer: Coinspeaker is committed to providing unbiased and transparent reporting. This article aims to deliver accurate and timely information but should not be taken as financial or investment advice. Since market conditions can change rapidly, we encourage you to verify information on your own and consult with a professional before making any decisions based on this content.

Tether (USDT) News, FTX (FTT) News, Altcoin News, Cryptocurrency News, News
Bhushan Akolkar

Bhushan is a FinTech enthusiast and holds a good flair in understanding financial markets. His interest in economics and finance draw his attention towards the new emerging Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency markets. He is continuously in a learning process and keeps himself motivated by sharing his acquired knowledge. In free time he reads thriller fictions novels and sometimes explore his culinary skills.

Bhushan Akolkar on X

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