In a recent interview with Fox Business, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino confirmed that the USDT stablecoin is 104% backed.
This means that the value of the collateral held by the company is significantly higher than the total supply of the stablecoin.
Ardoino told Fox Business that ensuring the safety of the stablecoin product remains the company’s “highest priority.”
According to data provided by CoinGecko, the market cap of USDT is currently approaching the $120 billion mark.
Back in 2021, the company was slapped with a $41 million fine by the CFTC for making misleading statements about its reserves.
The company publishes attestations on a quarterly basis in order to shed light on its reserves.
Last year, American financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald confirmed that it was responsible for overseeing Tether’s Treasury bills. As noted by Ardoino, Carntor is directly connected to the Fed, meaning that it would be able to pay out via that facility under any circumstances. The company holds a staggering $97 billion worth of government bonds.
Earlier this year, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse stirred up some controversy by suggesting that the US government was going after Tether. The statement, which came shortly after Ripple announced its own stablecoin, did not sit well with Ardoino. The latter slammed the Ripple boss for spreading FUD and highlighted his company’s cooperation with law enforcement agencies around the globe.