The world’s largest issuer of stablecoins, Tether, has published confirmation of the $ 35 billion USDT collateral. This certification is not related to reporting to the NYAG.
The document, prepared by Moore Cayman, analyzes Tether’s assets as of February 28, 2021. According to the attestation, the company’s total assets at that time were at least $ 35.28 billion against a total liabilities of $ 35.15 million. This attestation was the first third-party verification of Tether since 2018, which proves that its reserves match the value of USDT in circulation.
According to the information on the Moore Cayman website, the company has a small team. The Cayman Islands firm specializes in working with financial services providers. Note that the question of the real availability of reserves backing USDT has long been of concern to participants in the cryptocurrency industry.
However, attestation is not the same as audit. An audit is intended to investigate potential risks, while attestation only evaluates the accuracy of the data audited by the auditor. So far, no stablecoin issuer has been audited, including companies under the supervision of American regulators. The certification puts Tether on a par with other stablecoin issuers like Center, Gemini or Paxos when it comes to financial transparency.
USDT is now the largest stablecoin with a capitalization of over $ 40 billion. It plays an important role in the global cryptocurrency market, as it usually trades for $ 1 and allows traders to quickly move fiat currency between exchanges to take advantage of arbitrage opportunities. Tether plans to undergo another attestation at the end of March, followed by quarterly attestations.
These certifications are not related to the disclosure of information that Tether intends to provide to the New York Attorney General’s Office (NYAG). In February, the New York Attorney’s Office (NYAG) settled a lawsuit with Bitfinex and Tether. Under the terms of the settlement, the companies will not admit any violations, but will pay $ 18.5 million in fines and will provide quarterly reports describing the composition of Tether’s reserves over two years.
“We are conducting attestations on our own to keep Tether’s commitment to greater transparency,” said Stuart Hoegner, General Counsel for Tether and Bitfinex.
Although the attestation used a structure similar to reports prepared by Grant Thornton for the USDC stablecoin or Withum for PAX, Moore Cayman notes that the attestation was carried out in accordance with three international standards.
“Since the inception of Tether, we have made continuous efforts to improve disclosure,” said Högner. “As a leader in the growing cryptocurrency industry, we continue to strive to be one of the most transparent stablecoins.”
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