Tether confirms minimal EQIBank exposure following $89M US asset seizure

What happened

Tether confirmed it was a customer of EQIBank, the bank the Justice Department alleged directed the payments company, Capstone, to send and receive money, but the amount held at the bank represented 0.034% of the group’s total assets. While Tether's stated ceiling places its maximum exposure under $64 million, the incident underscores lingering counterparty risks in fiat gateway networks.

Federal prosecutors are targeting a Montana payments firm and a Caribbean bank accused of moving money without a license. US prosecutors alleged that a payments business illegally transferred hundreds of millions of dollars at the direction of EQIBank, where Tether holds some assets.

Stablecoin issuer Tether said that it had limited exposure through assets held at a bank that reportedly directed a payments company to allegedly move hundreds of millions of dollars on its behalf. US prosecutors reportedly froze about $84 million in Capstone’s accounts as part of the complaint.

As of Friday, the USDT stablecoin (a digital token meant to hold a fixed value, usually one dollar) had a market capitalization of about $184 billion. This news article is produced in accordance with Cointelegraph’s Editorial Policy and aims to provide accurate and timely information. Readers are encouraged to verify information independently.