Tether Ltd. has confirmed the identity of its new bank. The company behind the eponymous tether stablecoin (USDT) has historically been reluctant to disclose its banking arrangements, for fear they might be jeopardized. It has now issued a statement, however, confirming that it is banking with Deltec Bank & Trust Ltd.
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Tether Highlights Due Diligence by Deltec
The identity of Tether’s new bank, Bahamas-based Deltec, has been public knowledge for a number of weeks. On Nov. 1, Tether released a statement to confirm its banking relationship with the 72-year-old financial institution. The statement emphasized Deltec and Tether’s commitment to compliance and transparency, in a bid to stave off the sort of criticism that has been leveled against the company.
“The acceptance of Tether Ltd. as a client of Deltec came after their due diligence review,” read the announcement. “This included, notably, an analysis of our compliance processes, policies and procedures; a full background check of the shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries and officers of our company; and assessments of our ability to maintain the USD-peg at any moment and our treasury management policies.”
Tether continued:
This process of due diligence was conducted over a period of several months and garnered positive results, which led to the opening of our bank account with this institution. Deltec reviews our company on an ongoing basis.
One word that was conspicuously absent from Tether’s statement was “audit,” something that a tranche of the cryptocurrency community has been requesting for months. Such an undertaking, should it ever occur, would need to be handled by a specialist third party and is not a duty that Deltec could perform.
Tether Insists Cash Deposits Will Cover All USDT
In addition to confirming its banking relationship, Tether provided a copy of a letter from Deltec dated Nov. 1 stating that its cash on hand stands at $1,831,322,828. If accurate, these holdings would cover the $1.76 billion of USDT in circulation. While some commenters poked fun at the rudimentary nature of the signature on the document, the majority seemed relieved to see prima-facie evidence to suggest that all USDT in circulation are backed by a U.S. dollar.
What are your thoughts on Tether’s statement? Let us know in the comments section below.
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