$84m Asset Seizure Sparks Tether Exposure Questions

Tether, the issuer of the widely-held stablecoin USDT, has disclosed an exposure to EQIBank, which is at the center of a US asset seizure worth $84.2 million. The seizure involves payment processor Capstone Limited, and Tether's statement on its exposure raises questions about access to assets that might back USDT.

The government filed a civil forfeiture complaint in July, listing about $83.03 million in three bank balances and roughly 1.18 million USDT at two addresses. This combined total of approximately $84.2 million is part of the seizure. However, Tether's statement does not confirm whether any of this money belongs to its USDT reserves or if it can be used.

Tether has disclosed that its exposure to EQIBank is less than 0.034% of its assets, but the company did not provide a dollar balance or indicate which funds are part of USDT reserves. The published USDT reserve figures describe Tether International, an issuer entity, on a different date and do not bridge the two.