- Plaintiffs accuse Tether and Bitfinex of using USDT to manipulate crypto prices.
- Despite fluctuations, USDT traded at $1.00 with bullish RSI at 58.
As a seasoned researcher with extensive experience in the field of digital currencies and blockchain technology, I have closely followed the legal proceedings between the plaintiffs and Tether/Bitfinex with great interest. The allegations leveled against these companies, if proven true, would indeed represent a significant blow to the crypto industry’s reputation for transparency and fairness.
In an unexpected turn of events, the parties involved in a protracted class action lawsuit have alleged that Tether and Bitfinex have been involved in a deceptive practice aimed at influencing cryptocurrency market prices.
What’s the allegation all about?
The revised lawsuit claims that the corporations manipulated market conditions by employing USDT, Tether’s stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, as a tool.
In line with the preceding discussion, a court filing made by the complainants in the Southern District of New York elaborated on this point.
Based on my extensive experience in the crypto market and understanding of financial manipulation, I believe that Tether and Bitfinex concealed their identities to execute large, strategically planned purchases of crypto commodities. These clandestine transactions were designed to create an illusion of significant demand and artificially inflate the prices of these digital assets in the market. This manipulative behavior is a violation of trust and fairness within the crypto community and can have detrimental effects on unsuspecting investors.
The plaintiffs claim that Tether and Bitfinex used large amounts of USDT, which is supposedly equal to one US dollar per token, to purchase cryptocurrencies. However, according to the plaintiffs, these USDT dollars did not necessarily correspond to actual US dollars in reserve.
In this situation, the primary complainants are Matthew Script, Pinchas Goldshtein, Jason Leibowitz, and Benjamin Leibowitz, all based in America, who trade cryptocurrencies. Furthermore, other plaintiffs with civil class actions have joined the legal proceeding.
It has been alleged that Tether and Bitfinex provided false representations regarding the reserve assets backing their US Dollars tied stablecoin, USDT. This misrepresentation is believed to contravene both the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA) and the Sherman Antitrust Act.
The story so far…
In the ongoing case presided over by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla since 2019, there have been three complaints filed. The initial grievance was lodged in 2019, and an amended one followed in 2020.
The hearing encountered obstacles, among which was the dismissal of Roche Freedman, the legal team for the initial complainants, amidst disputes concerning their questionable lawsuit filings.
In spite of opposition from the legal teams of Tether and Bitfinex, Judge Failla granted the plaintiffs’ petition to modify their initial lawsuit, highlighting the persistent legal issues and intricacies surrounding this particular case.
The occurrence of these events coincided with a decrease in Tether’s market dominance on centralized exchanges. Specifically, its market share fell from a significant 82% to 74% as reported by Kaiko in the year 2024.
In the course of their on-chain analysis, Visa discovered that the average USD Tether (USDT) circulation amounted to approximately $115.17 billion during July. Conversely, Circle’s US Dollar Coin (USDC) saw an average supply of around $33.46 billion in the same month.
Furthermore, Tether’s intentions align with their plan to cease USDT redemptions on significant blockchains by September 2025.
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2024-07-16 19:03