Share this article
Tether Executives Facing Criminal Bank Fraud Charges: Report
The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Tether for a possible offense conducted years ago, Bloomberg reported Monday.
Updated Sep 14, 2021, 1:30 p.m. Published Jul 26, 2021, 1:24 p.m.
Make us preferred on Google
Executives from Tether are potentially facing a criminal probe into bank fraud, Bloomberg reported Monday.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
- The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating Tether for a possible offense conducted years ago, the outlet reported citing people with knowledge of the matter.
- The price of bitcoin dipped on the news, falling about $1,000 shortly after the report came out.
- Tether, which administers USDT, the crypto market's largest stablecoin, has long been dogged by accusations of murky banking relationships.
- Tether and its sister exchange Bitfinex settled an investigation by the New York Attorney General's Office (NYAG) into whether the stablecoin issuer was covering up the loss of nearly $1 billion in customer funds earlier this year.
- In the settlement agreement, the NYAG said Tether used various banks, but was suspended from some, including Wells Fargo, for unspecified reasons.
- Bloomberg previously reported in 2018 that the DOJ was investigating whether Tether and Bitfinex were pumping bitcoin's price.
- Tether did not immediately answer CoinDesk's request for comment, but in a blog post after this article was published, seemingly implied the Bloomberg story was wrong without quite saying so.
- "Tether routinely has open dialogue with law enforcement agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice, as part of our commitment to cooperation, transparency, and accountability," the statement said.
UPDATE (July 26, 2021, 16:31 UTC): Updated with additional context and a statement from Tether.
More For You
KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
More For You
Ukraine banned Polymarket and there’s no legal way for it to come back
Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
What to know:
- Ukraine has no legal framework for Web3 prediction markets, and current legislation provides no recognition for such platforms.
- Polymarket and similar platforms are considered unlicensed gambling operators, leading to blocked access.
- Legal changes are unlikely in the near future, as Parliamentary revisions to gambling definitions are extremely improbable during wartime, leaving prediction markets in a legal deadlock.
Top Stories
