Tether Controversies Re-Emerging as Paolo Ardoino Called Out in Twitter (X)
Will Tether maintain its position despite USDT depeg? | Credit: Shutterstock
Key Takeaways
- Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino assures customers as the company attempts to go public.
- Tether, Bitfinex and Crypto Capital face a ‘Market Manipulation’ lawsuit.
- Critics say USDT is failing.
Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, has been actively participating in interviews with various publications to address concerns and provide reassurance about the company’s future and its native stablecoin, USDT.
However, USDT, the company’s native stablecoin, continues to face challenges in maintaining its peg to the US dollar.
Critics have been vocal against Ardoino and his claims as the company has already received allegations of ‘market manipulation’ in New York.
USDT Struggles
Tether has been subject to legal scrutiny by the powers in charge in the past. The United District Court filed a lawsuit against Tether and its mother company Bitfinex for allegedly manipulating the market and being involved in a pump-and-dump scheme.
In the process of the lawsuit, Tether’s CTO Paolo Ardoino was called upon for deposition, which the company addressed in a formal letter , saying “Mr. Ardoino is adequately prepared to serve as a designee on the multiple topics.”
The company also published a blog post where it explained how the lawsuit was “bogus”.
“Tether vigorously disputes the findings and conclusions claimed by that source, which rely on flawed assumptions, incomplete and cherry-picked data, and faulty methodology,” reads the company’s post.
“These baseless accusations are an attempt to undermine the growth and success of the entire digital token community, of which Tether is a key part. It is an attack on the work and dedication of not just Tether’s stakeholders, but thousands of our colleagues, too.”
Tether settled its lawsuit with the New York Attorney General. However, Attorney General Letitia James pointed out that the company may face further litigation in other states.
Years later, the company’s stablecoin USDT still struggles to maintain its pegging to the US dollar. At the time of publishing, USDT trades at around $0.99997.
When the depegging happened, in June of this year, Ardoino dismissed it as a non-issue, saying the depegging was an orchestrated attack to take down USDT.
Critics Against Tether/Ardoino
Despite the token’s depeg, as well as potential imminent litigation from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Ardoino seems rather confident about the future of the company and its token.
In an interview with Anthony Pompliano, Ardoino was seen saying “I think in the future, [we] will still see tether and we are actually working towards an audit.”
“You know, in the past we made the mistake of giving some deadlines that we could not meet we are that didn’t it doesn’t change our focus our commitment so I’m positive that and uh you know that our team will continue in that direction.”
Ardoino gave an unclear answer when Pampliano asked him if Tether plans on going public. However, critics immediately used the interview to criticize the company and its CTO on X.
Critics also questioned the legitimacy of Tether due to heavy backing by offshore investors in Singapore where the law dictates the company executives may not invest in its products.
