The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has allegedly launched an investigation into the USDT stablecoin issuer for potential anti-money laundering violations. This comes just days after the Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino called for stable crypto regulations in the country.
US DOJ Allegedly Launches Probe Into Tether
According to report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the US government is allegedly investigating Tether of possible violations of sanctions and anti-money laundering rules. Specifically, the crypto firm may face penalties for doing business with groups on the US sanctions list. The criminal investigation is also looking at whether the USDT has been used by third parties to fund illegal activities such as the drug trade, terrorism and hacking—or launder the proceeds generated by them.
Commenting on the WSJ report, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino mentioned in an X post that they had told the Wall Street Journal that there is no indication that the crypto firm is under investigation. He added,
WSJ is regurgitating old noise. Full stop.
However, this development is undoubtedly concerning considering the impact that it could have on not just Tether but the broader crypto market. As the largest stablecoin by market cap, USDT is widely used in the crypto market and so it could spark a domino effect in the market.
Moreover, such a development can cause panic in the crypto market, similar to what when the top crypto exchange Binance and its former CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao were found guilty of violating money laundering laws.
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