- A consumer group has warned that Tether’s lack of transparency and “shady practices” should concern cryptocurrency users
- Consumers’ Research has highlighted Tether’s absence of audits and legal issues through a dedicated website
- The warning follows criticism from the Wall Street Journal over Tether’s complicity in online scams
A consumer advocacy group has warned that cryptocurrency users should be “deeply troubled” by the actions of stablecoin issuer Tether due to its “shady practices” and lack of transparency. Consumers’ Research, an independent nonprofit organization, feels so strongly about the issues surrounding Tether that it has espoused its message through a dedicated website, tetherwarning.com, where it lists the company’s various crimes, including the lack of an audit and its various legal entanglements. The warning comes just a couple of days after the Wall Street Journal jumped on the bandwagon to criticize Tether’s alleged role in allowing the proliferation of scams.
Timetable of Terrible Acts
Consumers’ Research opens with a stark warning that “U.S. consumers should be deeply troubled by Tether’s long history of shady practices, false claims, legal entanglements, and seemingly deliberate lack of transparency.” The company, which this week announced $12.72 billion in net profit since Q4 2022, has “refused to open its books,” according to the group, leading to fears that its operations are “opaque” and pose a significant risk to the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
The group echoes the age-old complaint that Tether has “consistently avoided audits, making it impossible to verify its claims,” arguing that the lack of such audits could harm investors. This argument has been put to Tether on a regular basis since it grew to prominence in 2017, and while a legitimate argument, it cannot be forgotten that, ever since its settlement with the New York Attorney General in 2021, it has been providing it with regular attestation reports, none of which have, seemingly, led to any cause for concern for Latetia James’ office.
Wall Street Journal Joins In
The launch of the website comes just 48 hours after the Wall Street Journal conducted its annual Tether-bashing, calling USDT a “giant unregulated currency” which is “undermining America’s fight against arms dealers, sanctions busters and scammers.”
The WSJ has written on a regular basis about Tether’s alleged infractions, accusing the outlet of making “unsubstantiated conclusions” over criticism of its lack of an audit in 2022.
