According to Bloomberg, cryptocurrency stablecoin Tether (USDT) has enough fiat dollars to back its tokens in circulation. No doubt, many readers will scorn that this is just another rumor as Tether is synonymous with controversy.

What’s going on?

Tether has Fiat Dollars

The original stablecoin has faced a myriad of controversy since the middle of this year when investors began questioning the validity of its purported 1 for 1 token value.

A stablecoin works by having enough fiat reserves to equal the number of tokens issued. This means that 1 Tether would be equal to 1 dollar. The idea is that it offers a safer form of crypto trading for investors who could cash in their Tether tokens at any given time and be assured that they would receive the exact same amount back in dollars. Stablecoins also act as a safety for trading with other crypto coins.

But Tether faced controversy when investors didn’t believe it had the same dollar amount as it had in its USDT coin.

However, today’s reported suggests otherwise.

Bank Statements

Bloomberg cited “bank statements” it had “reviewed,” and concluded that Tether did, in fact, have a combined fiat bank balance equal to the USDT in circulation. The period in question is between September 2017 to July 2018.

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The report also claims that the company made $6.6 million in interest in the first half of 2018.

Despite its design of being pegged 1:1 with USD, USDT has in fact been fluctuating heavily in recent months. At the time of writing, each Tether is worth $1.01 USD. So its value is over par currently. This reflects the increasing popularity of stablecoins in recent weeks, specifically as Bitcoin and other altcoins have fallen dramatically in value.

The controversy over Tether has been such that the company, along with cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex, received subpoenas from US authorities at the end of 2017. Last month they added a price manipulation probe.

What do you think about Tether?

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Despite Bitcoin’s intense price drop in recent months, some still believe it is going to turn it around next year. And there’s nothing to say it definitely won’t; in the last three days, Bitcoin has packed on 18% in gains.

Sudden Gains

The world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap jumped from $3,181 to $3,776 in under three days, proving further that nobody can truly know where this coin is headed next.

One advocate for its future upturn is Mike Kayamori, CEO of Quinone, a Japan-based crypto exchange platform. Speaking with Bloomberg TV, Kayamori believes that by the end of 2019, Bitcoin won’t just have increased its price, but it will hit a new all-time high. Is he just being hopeful or is there anything to back this up?

Promising 2019

The future can always appear promising, but 2018 has been anything but for Bitcoin. The crypto market has been truly bearish all year, wiping 80% of its value off the board since January. Bitcoin was priced at around $20,000 this time last year; now it is struggling to stay above $3,000.

There have been some brief bullish runs here and there, but overall, Bitcoin has been on a steady downward spiral for most of the year. It doesn’t help that it’s taken most altcoins with it.

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Lack of Newness

But for Kayamori, the reason for the current state of Bitcoin is simply a lack of newness in the crypto market. Believing that “there’s nothing new, no catalyst” to propel the market forward, he could be right. Cryptocurrencies grew their value from hype, after all, and there has been very little newness to continue the momentum.

But what is new in Kayamori’s opinion is that Japanese exchanges are adapting to Japan’s regulations and the country is open to more industry players. This, he thinks, will help to spur on adoption, at least in Japan anyway.

The CEO also went on to say that the arrival of Fidelity Digital Asset Services by Bakkt, as well as other investor-focused products in early 2019, will give “new momentum and sentiment” and could drive a bullish Bitcoin rebound.

Featured Image: Depositphotos/© dmvasilenko