Just after announcing its new banking partner, controversial stablecoin Tether has published a letter from the bank confirming the availability of more than $1.8 billion in firm’s account.
Tether Produces a Letter from Deltec Bank…
Earlier Thursday, Tether Limited, the company behind the stablecoin Tether (USDT) had announced its new banking partner, Deltec Bank & Trust. That same day, the company published a letter, purportedly issued by Deltec, confirming the availability of more than $1.8 billion in cash reserves held in an account with the financial institution.
The stable coin had experienced a massive sell-off after rumors surfaced on social media about it being delisted on several prominent exchanges. The price of the digital asset, which is supposed to be pegged 1:1 to the US Dollar, plunged to as low as $0.92 on some platforms.
Doubts about the company’s integrity and its lack of transparency over the past year have eroded the trust of the crypto community.
But the Letter Produces More Doubts
While Tether Limited’s intention was to restore its lost credibility with the publication of the letter, it has once again found itself on the receiving end of a fresh controversy. Zero Hedge reports that many traders were quick to point out the inconsistencies in the letter from the Bahamas-based bank.
According to the article, the PDF document that tether published had inconsistent timestamps, suggesting that the document was modified before being created.
Twitter user @bitfinexed tweeted:
Another problem… the timestamps in the provided PDF are inconsistent, it was 'modified' before it was created.
Maybe Tether has a time machine? But the June report had consistent timestamps. pic.twitter.com/3htxNg5RnU
— Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 (@Bitfinexed) November 1, 2018
Further, it was pointed out that the letter does not bear the name of the signatory, but only an incomprehensible signature.
Nobody wanted to put their name on this, either. pic.twitter.com/u0YuprReZE
— Bitfinex'ed 🔥🐧 Κασσάνδρα 🏺 (@Bitfinexed) November 1, 2018
These discrepancies, rather than assuaging investor concerns, have further raised red flags in their minds. Sharing such a letter on social media may prove to be counter-productive. Tether needs to maintain extra caution and put serious thought to its social media marketing strategy. At the time of writing the price of USDT is hovering around $0.99.
Does the publication of the letter by Tether convince you of its solvency? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Twitter, Shutterstock