Tether Explains Motion to Ban CoinDesk from Disclosing USDT Reserve Data
Tether Explains Motion to Ban CoinDesk from Disclosing USDT Reserve Data
CoinDesk is not a party to Tether's USDT reserve litigation with the New York State Attorney General's Office (NYAG), and the agreed terms of the case are not subject to revision. This was stated by representatives of the issuer of the stablecoin.
This is how Tether reacted to CoinDesk's statement about interference in the latest case related to the freedom of information litigation. At the time, the news agency noted that the petition for appeal should be rejected because the public interest in the case prevails over trade secrets.
Previously, the stablecoin issuer petitioned for trade secret protection and a ban on the disclosure of data on USDT reserves after the official takeover of CoinDesk.
to the process. This gave the agency the opportunity to present its own evidence and arguments.
In June 2021, CoinDesk filed a request with the NYAG to provide any documents on USDT reserves. The agency received this data during the settlement of the company's financial transactions related to the loss of $ 850 million. The NYAG employee initially denied the publication's request, but CoinDesk received access on appeal.
In the petition, Tether emphasized that CoinDesk has a common investor with the stablecoin issuer Circle (USDC) in the person of Digital Currency Group. After that, the publication updated the materials regarding the resonant USDT reserve process, revealing information about DCG investments.
The new document again mentions the alleged conflict of interest.
“While CoinDesk tells the court that it “adheres to strict rules of journalistic ethics,” its own litigation records did not disclose this blatant conflict of interest to readers until Tether and others filed a complaint,” the statement said.
According to the document, the disclosure of reserves “would create unfair competitive conditions for the issuer of USDT.”
Tether also claims that the power to resolve the conflict remains with the NYAG, since the agreement reached sets out the conditions for public disclosure of information.
According to the company, since NYAG initially rejected CoinDesk's request, the procedure should not be manipulated by the news outlet.
“The only real defendants here are those named in the petition. The court must disregard CoinDesk's designation of this status and under no circumstances allow the publication's misleading "labels" to alter a clear procedural non-compliance with the agreement, which is the only basis for a claim to be satisfied, ”the document explains.
Recall that in October 2021, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission ordered Tether and Bitfinex to pay civil penalties totaling $42.5 million.
In the same month, research firm Hindenburg Research questioned the accuracy of USDT reserves and offered a $1 million reward for revealing previously unknown information about them.
Earlier, the auditing firm Moore Cayman confirmed 100% backing of USDT by assets. However, the share of cash and bank deposits in reserves was 10%, and 49% of them consisted of commercial securities.