Prices of the largest crypto coins have fallen sharply in recent hours after The Wall Street Journal reported that the stablecoin company Tether is under investigation by the United States federal government. Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino’s denial hasn’t helped.
According to the business magazine, the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York of the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into the use of Tether for money laundering. However, that investigation has been going on for ‘several years’.
At the same time, the Treasury Department is considering sanctioning Tether due to the “widespread use of Tether by U.S.-sanctioned individuals and groups, including the terrorist group Hamas and Russian arms dealers.”
Tether calls it irresponsible for the WSJ to write articles with “reckless accusations” without sources and without confirmation from authorities. Tether therefore denies that there is an investigation.
USDT is a stablecoin, usually pegged to the dollar, to enable transactions without price loss. The Wall Street Journal calculated that up to $190 billion worth of USDT is traded every day.
For that reason, the crypto market is restless. The Bitcoin price was just on its way to $70,000, but is now back at $66,000.
Other crypto coins are also in the red, such as Ethereum (ETH), which fell by 2.4 percent.
The price may recover after a jobs report next week and the results of an important meeting of the US central bank in which an interest rate decision will be announced. The elections can also push up prices.
Source: www.emerce.nl
