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Which evidence? Because around December when they were printing about a billion dollars worth of tether there was zero evidence it was backed by anything other

Which evidence? Because around December when they were printing about a billion dollars worth of tether there was zero evidence it was backed by anything other than wishful thinking. Maybe that’s changed?

paulpauper 8y ago
https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Final-Tether-Consulting-Report-9-15-17_Redacted.pdf https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Final-Tether-Co...
- briatx 8y ago
  This report: 1. Is not an audit to be used for assurance purposes. The disclaimer at the top states that it "should not be used or relied on by any other party." 2. Is rather old now. 3. Was conducted by a firm that no longer conducts business with Tether, probably because Tether would not comply with information requests needed to conduct an actual audit, which is not as difficult as Tether makes it sound here: https://www.coindesk.com/tether-confirms-relationship-auditor-dissolved/ https://www.coindesk.com/tether-confirms-relationship-audito... Or in other words, it isn't proof of anything, and the fact that Tether has not been able to produce an actual audit for assurance purposes in all this time, speaks volumes.
  - arisAlexis 8y ago
    why is it super hard to believe they may have actually the holdings since their intetest is aligned with bitcoin?
bhouston 8y ago
My theory is that it was initially not backed fully but after the fact it became backed. A billion or two dollars is not that much money to eventually get, especially if you also hold a lot of valuable BTC as a result of this manipulation. Basically the unbacked tether allowed them to purchase BTC and with the great price increases that become worth way more than the unbacked tether allowing them to leverage that to actually get backing for the tether, either via selling BTC or merely promising it. Thus I believe that tether is likely backed now. I think it was an impressive scam, very ballsy.
- 3pt14159 8y ago
  1. What proof do you have? 2. Even if this was their play from the beginning and they've actually pulled it off (I'm doubtful) why should we trust that they won't hit us with some other scam some point in the future?
  - bhouston 8y ago
    Answers: 1. I have no proof, it is "my theory." 2. I wouldn't trust them in any way.
- carbocation 8y ago
  What you're describing is fraud which could still be uncovered by, say, an accounting firm hired to audit. Interesting how none has been allowed to complete an audit.
- Animats 8y ago
  How can it "become backed"? Anyone who buys Tether expects to get Tether tokens. If the issuers created Tether tokens from nothing, there's no way they can become backed. Where would the money come from? Tether isn't redeemable, anyway. You can't go to the Tether issuers and demand a dollar for your Tether token. Financial Times: Meanwhile, the supply of Tethers rapidly ballooned, from $50 million to $2.2 billion. That led to an increasing number of questions over whether the dollars that were meant to back the cryptocurrency really existed. It was reported in January that both companies had been subpoenaed in December last year by US regulators, who wanted to look into this.[1] [1] https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/06/13/1528904202000/Has-bitcoin-come-to-the-end-of-its-Tether-/ https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/06/13/1528904202000/Has-bit...
  - FabHK 8y ago
    > How can it "become backed"? 1. Create 1m Tether out of thin air (unbacked). 2. Use them to buy 1000 BTC (when the price was 1000$). 3. BTC Price goes up to 10,000$. 4. Sell 1000 BTC for $10m. Keep $9m, and put $1m into a bank account to "back the tether".

paulpauper 8y ago

https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Final-Tether-Consulting-Report-9-15-17_Redacted.pdf https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Final-Tether-Co...

briatx 8y ago
This report: 1. Is not an audit to be used for assurance purposes. The disclaimer at the top states that it "should not be used or relied on by any other party." 2. Is rather old now. 3. Was conducted by a firm that no longer conducts business with Tether, probably because Tether would not comply with information requests needed to conduct an actual audit, which is not as difficult as Tether makes it sound here: https://www.coindesk.com/tether-confirms-relationship-auditor-dissolved/ https://www.coindesk.com/tether-confirms-relationship-audito... Or in other words, it isn't proof of anything, and the fact that Tether has not been able to produce an actual audit for assurance purposes in all this time, speaks volumes.
- arisAlexis 8y ago
  why is it super hard to believe they may have actually the holdings since their intetest is aligned with bitcoin?

bhouston 8y ago

My theory is that it was initially not backed fully but after the fact it became backed. A billion or two dollars is not that much money to eventually get, especially if you also hold a lot of valuable BTC as a result of this manipulation. Basically the unbacked tether allowed them to purchase BTC and with the great price increases that become worth way more than the unbacked tether allowing them to leverage that to actually get backing for the tether, either via selling BTC or merely promising it. Thus I believe that tether is likely backed now. I think it was an impressive scam, very ballsy.

3pt14159 8y ago
1. What proof do you have? 2. Even if this was their play from the beginning and they've actually pulled it off (I'm doubtful) why should we trust that they won't hit us with some other scam some point in the future?
- bhouston 8y ago
  Answers: 1. I have no proof, it is "my theory." 2. I wouldn't trust them in any way.
carbocation 8y ago
What you're describing is fraud which could still be uncovered by, say, an accounting firm hired to audit. Interesting how none has been allowed to complete an audit.
Animats 8y ago
How can it "become backed"? Anyone who buys Tether expects to get Tether tokens. If the issuers created Tether tokens from nothing, there's no way they can become backed. Where would the money come from? Tether isn't redeemable, anyway. You can't go to the Tether issuers and demand a dollar for your Tether token. Financial Times: Meanwhile, the supply of Tethers rapidly ballooned, from $50 million to $2.2 billion. That led to an increasing number of questions over whether the dollars that were meant to back the cryptocurrency really existed. It was reported in January that both companies had been subpoenaed in December last year by US regulators, who wanted to look into this.[1] [1] https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/06/13/1528904202000/Has-bitcoin-come-to-the-end-of-its-Tether-/ https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2018/06/13/1528904202000/Has-bit...
- FabHK 8y ago
  > How can it "become backed"? 1. Create 1m Tether out of thin air (unbacked). 2. Use them to buy 1000 BTC (when the price was 1000$). 3. BTC Price goes up to 10,000$. 4. Sell 1000 BTC for $10m. Keep $9m, and put $1m into a bank account to "back the tether".