Bloomberg unveils suspicious relations between stablecoin issuer Tether and collapsed Signature Bank.
Tether, the issuer of the biggest stablecoin in terms of market capitalization USDT, is alleged to have given its clients the ability to transfer funds through Signature Bank's payment platform.
It is believed that by allowing to do so, Tether gained access to the United States banking system.
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The news was revealed by Bloomberg on April 4th, citing "people with knowledge of the situation."
According to the news report, Tether told its customers to transfer funds in US dollars via Signature Bank's Signet platform to its Bahamas-based partner Capital Union Bank. The individual interviewed by Bloomberg claimed that this system was fully operational when regulators took control of Signature Bank.
While the partnership between Tether and Signature would not have been considered an illegal activity, the lack of disclosure to investors could be indicative of high-risk practices.
When asked about the matter, a Tether spokesperson stated that the company's banking partners "always had access to several banking channels and counterparties" and highlighted that associated entities "wouldn't be affected by either direct or indirect exposure to Signature."
It is worth noting that the New York Department of Financial Services, in collaboration with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, announced the shutdown of Signature Bank on March 12th, stating the decision was made to "protect the US economy."
At that time, several crypto-related firms, such as Celsius, Coinbase, and Paxos, revealed exposure to the crypto-friendly bank. However, Tether's Chief Technology Officer, Paolo Ardoino, took to Twitter to assert that the company had no exposure to the collapsed bank.
In the most recent Signature Bank-related news, FDIC gave Signature Bank crypto customers until April 5th to close their accounts.
