Tether Comments on DOJ Investigation Reports

Following a report by Bloomberg on Monday about an alleged investigation into whether Tether has committed bank fraud in its early days of operation, the firm has released a statement.

According to the report, which cites three unknown sources, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking into whether years ago, the stablecoin issuer concealed from banks that transactions it conducted were linked to cryptocurrencies. Citing one of the sources, Bloomberg writes that letters were sent to a number of Tether's executives to notify them of the ongoing investigation; it has reportedly not been decided whether the charges will result in a case against the firm.

The article published by Bloomberg is "based on unnamed sources and years-old allegations, patently designed to generate clicks," Tether told the BTC Times, "this article follows a pattern of repackaging stale claims as 'news'."

Tether is the world's largest stablecoin, boasting a market cap of just under $62 billion. As such, it has faced heavy scrutiny from within the Bitcoin space as well as from the outside for the better part of its existence; a worldwide push for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) now increasingly draws the attention of regulators and central banks to the stablecoin as well.

Previously, Tether often found itself at the center of scrutiny related to its reserves; in May, it released a breakdown of said reserves in a quest for increased transparency.

The latest allegations don't seem to faze the stablecoin issuer, however. Tether told the BTC Times that the "continued efforts to discredit Tether will not change [its] determination to remain leaders in the community."

"Tether routinely has open dialogue with law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, as part of our commitment to cooperation, transparency, and accountability. [...] It is business as usual at Tether, and we remain focused on how to best serve the needs of our customers."