Tether Loses Peg, But CTO Paolo Ardoino Calls It an “Attack”

It was a day of high drama in the cryptocurrency market, with Tether’s USDT slightly deviating from its United States dollar peg. Interestignly, coinciding with a significant release of information by the New York Attorney General’s Office to CoinDesk.

However, Tether’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Paolo Ardoino, has responded robustly to these developments. He declared the events a planned attack on Tether. Still, company was well prepared and has emerged stronger than ever.

Tether Loses Peg

Paolo Ardoino was unequivocal in his assessment of the day’s events. “Today is a good day at Tether,” he began, highlighting the stablecoin’s strength and readiness to protect its community in the face of what he characterized as an attack.

Ardoino suggested that the depegging of USDT was an orchestrated effort designed to undermine confidence in the stablecoin. Still, he argued that Tether has nothing to hide and is stronger than ever.

The so-called “attack” began when USDT deviated from its usual peg to the US dollar. The incident was caused due to an imbalance in Curve’s 3pool.

USDT’s price fell to around $0.997 as its weight in Curve’s 3pool increased to 70% from the usual 33%.

This deviation was primarily caused by a whale address called CZSamSun. It borrowed 31.5 million USDT and swapped it for USDC, causing a slight fluctuation in USDT’s US dollar peg value.

While such price swings are not unusual in the volatile crypto market, the timing of the event raised eyebrows. This depegging scare occurred on the same day that the New York Attorney General’s Office provided CoinDesk with documents relating to Tether’s quarterly reports, following Tether’s decision to drop its opposition to the disclosure.

Despite the challenges, Tether has shown resilience and remains committed to transparency. Ardoino emphasized the company’s ongoing commitment to openness and unproductive litigation that distracts from the real issues facing the industry.

“In this period, more than ever, after so many failures, uncertainty, doubt, our industry needs to have stability and reassurance. Tether doesn’t have anything to hide. Never had,” said Ardoino.

Tether’s CTO also reiterated the company’s commitment to protecting customer data and its focus on maintaining the accuracy of its financial figures.

CoinDesk Spilled the Beans

Paolo Ardoino also highlighted the role of CoinDesk in the day’s events. He suggested that their coverage often misrepresents Tether’s market position in favor of its main competitors. The firm called on CoinDesk to set aside its bias to avoid putting investors at risk.

Despite the potential for manipulation and the spread of panic, Tether decided to stand strong in favor of transparency.

“The published information, if properly read and interpreted, only demonstrates publicly the legitimacy of Tether’s business and the existence of its reserves,” said Tether. 

While the events surrounding the USDT depegging seem suspicious, Ardoino assures that Tether is equipped to weather this storm.

However, it is worth noting that the materials provided are outdated and do not accurately reflect the current state of Tether’s reserves. They do not account for the transformative changes in Tether’s ecosystem. Tether has significantly reduced its commercial paper holdings and aims to reduce its secured loans portfolio to zero in the coming months.