Tether has turned its focus to the Bahamas-based
Britannia Bank & Trust for processing dollar transfers. This step occurs as
the traditional US banks cut ties with the cryptocurrency entities. In the
past, Tether has faced questions regarding the reserves that underline its
stablecoin, USDT.
According to the sources
who spoke with Bloomberg on condition of anonymity, Tether instructed clients
to send their funds to Britannia’s bank accounts in recent months. However, it
remains unclear when the banking relationship began.
Tether, the issuer of
the world’s most widely used stablecoin , has long grappled with securing and maintaining
access to the traditional financial system. The relationship between the
stablecoin sector and traditional banking has often been a tenuous one, with US
banks like Wells Fargo cutting ties with Tether in 2017.
The mounting pressure
from regulatory bodies, including the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC),
has reportedly led to the withdrawal of major and midsize banks from the crypto
sector. Additionally, the collapse of prominent financial institutions,
Silvergate, Signature, and Silicon Valley Bank, which were considered crypto-friendly, have led banks to
rethink their engagement with the crypto companies.
