Last night, news broke that the U.S. government is investigating Tether, the company that issues #USDT, causing some turbulence in the crypto market. So, let’s take a moment to summarize what USDT is and its current status.

USDT is the third-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, after #Bitcoin ($1.7 trillion) and #Ethereum ($290 billion), with a market cap of $120 billion. It’s issued by Tether based on U.S. dollar reserves.

Although Tether’s website does not provide a head office location, according to Wikipedia, the company is registered in the British Virgin Islands. Similar to the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, Tether may be intentionally avoiding declaring its headquarters location, saying it operates ‘on the internet’ to steer clear of U.S. regulations.

USDT is widely used on many blockchains like Ethereum, and it's practically the most commonly used cryptocurrency for international settlements. Bitcoin trades with USDT surpass Bitcoin-USD trades in volume.

Even with news circulating about BRICS countries potentially launching a new international currency, people in those countries still prefer the U.S. dollar. That’s one reason why USDT is widely used for settlements outside the U.S.

Among the different types of USDT, the one circulating on the #Tron blockchain is particularly popular. Tron was founded by Justin Sun (孙宇晨) from China, and its recent quarterly protocol revenue (blockchain usage fees) reached a record $150 million.

Lately, some U.S. crypto exchanges have delisted USDT, citing that it isn’t approved for use in the U.S.

Given these facts, along with the geopolitical developments like the BRICS meetings and the news of Iran’s attack on Israel last night, it’s no surprise that USDT’s price reacted sharply.

As Tether strongly rebuts in the reposted tweet, they claim the rumors are baseless.

That said, when such rumors surface, especially when they might not be entirely unfounded, it’s hard to justify holding assets in USDT.

This is where #Bitcoin stands strong, as it’s free from these concerns!

https://tether.io/news/tether-slams-wsjs-irresponsible-reporting-stands-by-strong-law-enforcement-track-record/