Tuesday’s big story that the Department of Justice is probing Tether in Bitcoin price manipulation shouldn’t be a shock to one group of people—Modern Consensus readers. “While federal prosecutors opened a broad criminal probe into cryptocurrencies months ago, they’ve recently homed in on suspicions that a tangled web involving Bitcoin, Tether and crypto exchange Bitfinex might have been used to illegally move prices, said three people familiar with the matter,” wrote Bloomberg’s Matt Robinson and Tom Schoenberg. However, we connected the dots months ago when news of a DoJ investigation began surfacing. Modern Consensus began publishing at the start of the year, while crypto prices were stratospheric. Still, back in…
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Tether’s bank issues letter, critics pounce
Deltec’s says Tether has $1.8 billion in bank, but letter adds fuel to fire
In recent weeks, more than half of all bitcoin trades took place against Tether. Yet few knew for certain if there were dollars backing those tokens. This week, Tether released a letter from its bank, Bahamas-based Deltec, saying, “We hereby confirm that, at the close of business on October 31, 2018, the portfolio cash value of your account with our bank was US$1,831,322,828.” That amount was nearly $55 million above the amount of Tether tokens in circulation. Over and done with, right? Not exactly. Crypto Twitter talmudicly began parsing the letter, particularly the second part, which reads: “This letter is provided without any liability, however arising, on the part of…
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Bitfinex’ed tells (almost) all about Tether: The Modern Consensus interview
Anonymous critic of Tether and Bitfinex explains why bitcoin is headed to $15
As pressure mounts on Tether, its harshest critic—the anonymous “Bitfinex’ed”—does an interview with Modern Consensus. Reveals how he—or she—first started investigating Bitfinex and Tether. Claims 2016 hack of 120,000 bitcoins on Bitfinex was an inside job at the highest levels. Argues almost nothing backs up billions in outstanding Tether tokens; suspects recent reports were a “forgery.” Presents bleak view of cryptocurrency and blockchain’s future. Justifies a $10 to $15 price target for bitcoin (yes, you read that right). The vice is tightening on Tether and that could have devastating repercussions on the $200 billion cryptocurrency market. Though over $2 billion worth of the “stablecoin” is circulating, it has an…
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Why the SEC should reject a Bitcoin ETF
The crypto market needs to grow up and tackle rampant manipulation and fraud
The bitcoin trading market is rampant with manipulation and fraud on even some of the largest exchanges. We therefore believe it would be a grave mistake for the Securities and Exchange Commission to greenlight a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) at this time. The SEC is currently accepting public comments on the proposed launch of just such a product, via a joint bid by the investment firm VanEck and the financial services company SolidX. Those of us who believe in free markets hail the proliferation of crypto exchanges that has occurred since the start of the decade. The hope is that, eventually, the fairest and most honest exchanges will attract the most…
