Tether, the much maligned stablecoin that has been the subject of constant criticism from a number of vocal members of the crypto community, took a step towards clearing its name yesterday. It announced that users could, for the first time in years, exchange USDT tokens for fiat on its website, but not without a catch. The reintroduction of token redemption, coupled with a brand new interface on its website, should go some way to easing the concerns of the community after a number of disastrous PR moves in recent months. However, the news isn’t great for the average user, given that the minimum issuance and redemption value is $100,000.
Bitfinex Link is Just Business
Tether claimed that their move has come about because of “stronger banking as a result of our new relationship with Deltec”, the announcement of which was greeted with scorn by many in the community at the time because of the way in which it was done, and also made sure to note that their relationship with Bitfinex, the exchange to which they have been very closely linked over the years, is a just “business to business” one. Bitfinex for their part at the same time announced two new Tether-fiat trading pairs, while reinforcing their neutrality with regard to Tether:
Now in reflection of the evolved stablecoin market, and in keeping with our ethos that an exchange should be a neutral actor, wallets on Bitfinex will support Tether balance USDT and EURT in addition to the existing USD and EUR fiat balances. Users may then use this new pair to convert fiat to Tether and vice versa as desired. This effectively means that Bitfinex users can deposit, trade and withdraw USD and EUR in both fiat and Tether denominations.
Six-figure Minimum
Fiat-US dollar redemptions will be limited to one per week, while the minimum issuance and redemption figure is a hefty $100,000/100,000 USDT. This means that while the move is positive in principle, it might not be of practical use to many people, but it is at least a step in the right direction. The price of one USDT remained at $0.986 after the news, which means the token is closing in on eight weeks of being worth less than its supposed peg.
