Tether Is Fully Backed, Assurance Opinion Shows

Legend has it that there cannot be a Bitcoin bull market without an episode of vocal concerns about the state of the world’s largest stablecoin Tether (USDt).

Earlier this year, accusations resurfaced that USDt was not fully backed, meaning that its issuer Tether allegedly did not hold the equivalent value in U.S. dollars needed to back the amount of USDt it had issued. The concerns were spurred on by a cascade of media reports, peaking in a January story that involved Deltec Bank, which calls Tether one of its customers.

In a previous podcast appearance on Peter McCormack’s What Bitcoin Did, Tether General Counsel Stuart Hoegner had stated that “every Tether is 100 percent backed by our reserves.” Those reserves, according to Hoegner, “include traditional currency and cash equivalents, and may include other assets and receivables from loans made by Tether to third parties.

Nonetheless, Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino announced in the same month that Tether was working towards “increased transparency” in 2021.

Now Tether has confirmed with the BTC Times that it has obtained an assurance opinion from Moore Cayman, which states that Tether is indeed fully backed.

Moore Cayman is part of Moore Global, a century-old accounting firm headquartered in London and one of the largest accounting networks in the world.

Assurance opinions, like audits, are assurance services. An assurance service is usually carried out by an independent party that verifies the correctness of a company’s internal financial statements in order to verify the absence of misrepresentation or misuse of funds.

“Tether has always been fully backed, and the assurance opinion we made available today confirms it once again," Hoegner commented on the reveal. "As our growth in the market continues to validate our business, we understand the public’s interest in this matter and are pleased to share this attestation as part of our ongoing commitment to transparency."

The assurance opinion, of which the BTC Times has obtained a copy, describes Tether's consolidated reserves report dated February 28th, 2021, "fairly stated." The document further notes that Tether's "reserves held for its digital assets issued exceeds the amount required to redeem the digital asset tokens issued."

Stablecoins have established themselves as a key pillar of the digital asset space and are considered indispensable by many traders as a hedge against Bitcoin’s volatility. In addition, stablecoins are enjoying increased popularity in accounting and payroll management as well as well as international remittances.

Tether is the largest stablecoin in the world, counting over $41 billion in market capitalization at the time of writing.