Tether Downplays Role in $84M Financial Seizure Linked to Bitfinex

Tether, the issuer of the widely-held stablecoin USDT, has downplayed its involvement in a recent financial seizure. The company claims to have had 'limited' exposure through assets held at EQIBank, where hundreds of millions of dollars allegedly passed through on behalf of Tether and Bitfinex.

A civil forfeiture complaint filed by the Department of Justice alleges that EQIBank directed payments company Capstone to send and receive money for the two firms. US prosecutors froze approximately $84 million in Capstone's accounts as part of the complaint, which also claims that the business was unlicensed.

Tether spokespersons stated that they had 'no knowledge' of any alleged misconduct and that their exposure through EQIBank represented just 0.034% of their total assets. The USDT stablecoin has a market capitalization of around $184 billion as of Friday, with no clear indication of how the seizure could impact its customers.