Tether, Bitfinex, summary

Back in April 2019, New York accused Bitfinex of using Tethers’s funds to cover up $850 million in losses. [5]

The New York attorney general’s office settled Tuesday a nearly two-year investigation into the finances and corporate practices of the companies that operate the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange and the stablecoin tether. [1]

New York Attorney General Letitia James said Bitfinex claimed its so-called ‘stablecoin’, Tether, was backed by one-for-one holdings in U.S. dollars. [3]

The State of New York shut down the the digital currency trading platform Bitfinex Tuesday, accusing it of hiding losses and deceiving clients, in a move that could have significant implications for bitcoin prices. [3]

The attorney general’s office said the companies made several public misrepresentations, regarding the dollar reserves backing for tether in 2017 and a situation in 2018 when Bitfinex lost access to about $850 million of its customers’ funds that it had placed with an outside company. [2]

Tether’s claims that its virtual currency was fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times was a lie,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said as she shut down its trading in the state. [3]

When Bitfinex lost those customer funds, it borrowed money from the tether reserves to cover the loss, something it didn’t disclose publicly. [1]

The allegations say Tether is minted without the one-to-one- U.S. dollar backing, and then used to buy bitcoins on platforms such as Bitfinex. [3]

The owner of the Tether cryptocurrency and Bitfinex trading platform will pay an $18.5 million fine to settle charges it commingled client and corporate funds to cover up $850 million that went missing, New York Attorney General Letitia James said on Tuesday. [4]

Hong Kong-based iFinex Inc., which operates the Bitfinex exchange, and Tether Ltd. agreed to pay [the] $18.5 million to the attorney general’s office. [2]

The settlement ends a long-running saga that had been keenly followed in the crypto industry. [1]

…

So what could be behind this turnaround? One theory is that in the next few days, a new settlement out of New York will restore the crypto bull run.[5]