Craig Wright Calls Tether USDT “Dead Coin Walking”

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Last Updated on 15 September 2023 by CryptoTips.eu

Self-acclaimed Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright has referred to Tether’s USDT as a dead coin. In a tweet on 24 March, the controversial founders of Bitcoin Satoshi Version (BSV) said Tether is dead and does not need to be killed.

His tweet was in response to another tweet by a Twitter user named Mr Whale, stating that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) hinted at a crackdown on the stablecoin. The SEC had earlier stated that proof of reserves means nothing, implying that even digital currencies such as USDT that claim to be backed by USD reserves are not exempted from scrutiny.

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USDT Crackdown Could Cause Industry Collapse

Mr Whale in his tweet said the SEC is considering “busting” Tether USDT, but hasn’t come out to say it because it could lead to the collapse of the entire crypto industry. This makes sense because USDT has been one of the top cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for a while now.

Specifically, it is the third largest cryptocurrency, and also the most used stablecoin. Not just that, USDT has the highest transaction volume of any cryptocurrency including Bitcoin. Its relative stability makes it attractive to merchants and buyers for payments, since the volatility of conventional cryptocurrencies doesn’t affect it much.

As such, a crackdown on USDT will affect other stablecoins which are less stable. USDC issued by Circle comes to mind since it just came out of a crisis.

Regulators Tightening Ropes Across the Board

USDT is not the only crypto asset the SEC has hinted at cracking down on. The SEC chair Gary Gensler had already said that he believed Ethereum (ETH) was a security. This is contrary to the position of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) chair, Rostin Behnam who believes that Ethereum and Bitcoin are commodities. 

More recently, the office of the New York Attorney General (NYAG) became the first to outrightly call Ethereum a security. The NYAG Letitia James filed a lawsuit against crypto exchange Kucoin for allowing New York residents to trade Ethereum. 

She claimed that Ethereum was a security, just like TerraUSD and LUNA, and the exchange needed a license to let crypto users in New York trade such assets.

Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / [email protected]
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