KEY POINTS
- Consumers' Research said Tether has been refusing to be audited
- The nonprofit's executive director said Tether is 'anything but stable'
- Tether was under scrutiny earlier this year after a UN report alleged USDT use by money launderers
A nonprofit that focuses on issues and products or services of concern to consumers has accused stablecoin giant Tether of having a "shady" business that may not be so stable after all.
Consumers' Research ran an ad on a billboard in Times Square, New York City Tuesday, wherein the cryptocurrency titan is accused of "corruption." The nonprofit also set up a website dedicated to its cause of informing consumers about Tether's alleged suspicious business dealings.
🚨NEW: A digital billboard accusing the world’s largest stablecoin @Tether_to of corruption is being featured in Times Square, NYC right now. https://t.co/tH71Z0tLYS pic.twitter.com/QoBHXYrGOe
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) June 18, 2024
"We're sounding the alarm on the threat so-called "stablecoin" @Tether_to poses to consumers and their suspicious business practices. Tether thrives in the shadows, refusing to be audited and constantly dodging fraud investigations," the organization wrote in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).
NEW: We're sounding the alarm on the threat so-called “stablecoin” @Tether_to poses to consumers and their suspicious business practices.
— Consumers' Research (@ConsumersFirst) June 18, 2024
Tether thrives in the shadows, refusing to be audited and constantly dodging fraud investigations. https://t.co/CNdS5BUUMe
Consumers' Research executive director Will Hild posted the ad campaign on X, saying Tether is "anything but stable" and consumers have now been warned about the company.
🚨 Is @Tether_to the next FTX?
— Will Hild (@WillHild) June 18, 2024
They thrive in the shadows, they're chronically under investigation, and they refuse to be audited...
They're anything but stable. You've been warned.https://t.co/pKKRxrOB82 pic.twitter.com/ckPrXn5Uu5
Hild further said in a statement that terrorists and human and drug traffickers have routinely used USDT in their activities. He went on to warn consumers to be wary of stablecoin companies that refuse to "properly certify that they actually hold the assets they claim."
My full statement on our effort to bring @Tether_to's corruption to light:
— Will Hild (@WillHild) June 18, 2024
"Since its inception in 1929, @ConsumersFirst has acted as the neighborhood watch in the market, alerting consumers to bad actors and unsafe products. The technology may have changed dramatically over the…
In the video, a voiceover asks whether Tether "is the next FTX," and states that the company received a 4/5 high risk rating from S&P. It also suggests that the "fraud" and "price manipulation" within the stablecoin behemoth could be the reason why USDT is the "go-to" digital asset for cartels, terrorists, and human trafficking networks.
The website sponsored by Consumers' Research, tetheredtocorruption.com, displays quotes taken from various outlets that reported on some of the allegations hurled against Tether, including Bloomberg, Forbes, Protos, and The Wall Street Journal.
As of writing, Tether has not made a statement regarding the matter. It did not immediately respond to International Business Times' request for comment.
News of the recent allegations against Tether comes about a month after it announced a partnership with prominent blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis as part of its efforts to enhance compliance practices amid mounting scrutiny over the USDT's alleged use by money laundering groups.
In January, the United Nations' Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) alleged in a report that USDT was increasingly becoming among the "popular vehicles" used by crypto-based money launderers in Southeast Asia.
Bloomberg also reported late in March that the U.S. and the United Kingdom were investigating Tether after some $20 billion in USDT passed through Russia-based Garantex, which has been sanctioned. At the time, the report noted that the probe was in its early stages and conclusions on Tether's supposed wrongdoing were too early to make.
