Tether has been one of the biggest question marks in crypto in recent years, and that hasn’t changed as adoption has grown. Decentralization has been a hot topic, and while the word itself isn’t mentioned once throughout Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin whitepaper, it is a core identity that has been latched on to bitcoin, and crypto in general, since near inception. Of course, decentralization is the core component of just one of many question marks around Tether. However, this week the spotlight is on just that, as Tether announced that roughly $160M worth of stablecoin USDT would be frozen. Let’s look at what we know. Tether Faces Scrutiny Around Decentralization Three Ethereum-based USDT addresses, holding north of $150M, were frozen this week, according to Tether officials, as the blockchain cited the move due to “a request from law enforcement.” The blockchain has now blacklisted over 560 addresses since November 2017. It was the first blacklisting maneuver from Tether in 2022. Tether representatives have previously stated that “through the freezing of addresses, Tether has been able to help recover funds stolen by hackers or are compromised,” leading to heated debates in the crypto community – one that has largely embraced decentralization – over what degree of power blockchain authorities should be able to weild over the network. Long-time crypto loyalists are, generally speaking, not ecstatic about Tether’s level of control of the market – even if the end result is to replace funds that were lost due to the actions of malicious bad actors. Furthermore, recent U.S. government scrutiny over the likes of stablecoins – notably USDT and USDC – have arguably led to substantial growth of more decentralized alternatives, namely UST and DAI – the third and fourth largest stablecoins in the market. Related Reading | Jack Dorsey’s Block Looking To Democratize Bitcoin Mining With Open Source Mining System As broader cryptocurrency markets have grown, so too have stablecoins such as USDT; however increased scrutiny from crypto loyalists have left many wondering about the extent of power that the network should carry. | Source: CRYPTOCAP: USDT on TradingView.com Where We Go From Here Admittedly, Tether is undoubtedly in between a bit of a rock and a hard place. The leading stablecoin is rapidly approaching a $100B market cap, and is salivating at the thought of solidifying it’s stature as the ‘go-to’ stablecoin in a world of rapid crypto growth. Additionally, according to a Chainalysis report, illicit activity and cryptocurrency-based crime nearly doubled in 2021 compared to 2020, and government officials are likely ramping up communications with the blockchain. As we kick off the new year, expect more of the same when it comes to Tether, and perhaps even Circle’s USDC – as the two look to ingrain crypto in more mainstream outlets, a degree of centralization to come with that is inevitable. Related Reading | UAE Authorities Announce New Stringent Measures Against Crypto Scammers Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com The writer of this content is not associated or affiliated with any of the parties mentioned in this article. This is not financial advice.

Buterin has been both the golden child of crypto, and the recipient of some of the most trenchant criticism. For a bit of fun, he decided today was the day he wanted to dig some notable digs up and share them with his Twitter followers.

It looks like Second Life might be approaching its second coming, with creator Philip Rosedale returning to the project as it prepares to tackle the Metaverse.

Nasdaq-listed cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has acquired a regulated derivatives trading platform. Coinbase plans to make the derivatives market more approachable to millions of its retail customers. Coinbase Plans to Offer Crypto Derivatives to All US Customers Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange operator Coinbase announced Wednesday that it has acquired Fairx, a regulated derivatives trading platform. Fairx is […]

FTX US and Bitstamp USA want to offer stock trading products to their clientes, directly competing against Robinhood and eToro.

Ripple won a ruling that will force the SEC to disclose emails concerning a speech in which a former official concluded Ethereum is not a security.

Consumer credit reporting agency TransUnion is moving in the direction of Web3. The Illinois-based company announced this week it will bring off-chain consumer credit, identity, and compliance information to public blockchain networks. The move is made possible via a partnership with Spring Labs, a company that offers decentralized infrastructure for credit and identity data. Spring Read more...

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An Ethereum whale with over $3.7 million in assets on its wallet has made a hefty investment in the meme-inspired cryptocurrency Shiba Inu ($SHIB) shortly after a popular business account on social media claimed Robinhood is set to list SHIB “as early as February.” According to whale monitoring resource WhaleStats, the Ethereum whale moved to […]

Latin America’s Leading iBuying and Real Estate Tech Company Continues to Build Out Executive Team with Former Bank of America Merrill Lynch Managing Director and Head of Latin America Financial Institutions, FinTech & Real Estate NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Habi, one of the largest real estate technology companies in Latin America, today announced the appointment of Marcos […]

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Strengthens Board with Strategic, Corporate Governance and Financial Expertise ELMSFORD, N.Y.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NanoVibronix Inc., (NASDAQ: NAOV), a medical device company that produces the UroShield® and PainShield® Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Portable Ultrasonic Therapeutic Devices, today announced its board of directors has appointed Ms. Aurora (Rori) Cassirer and Ms. Maria (Lulu) Schroeder to serve as independent directors […]

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Internationally recognized scientist will drive the business’ nanochip, AI/machine learning initiatives ATLANTA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LocatorX, an innovative tracking technology provider, today announced that Andrew Briggs has been appointed Chief Innovation Officer. Briggs will focus on leveraging technologies such as nanochips and artificial intelligence to improve supply chain traceability. Briggs brings decades of expertise to the role. His […]

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DUBLIN–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The “The Market for CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Products” report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com’s offering. This report provides an in-depth and up-to-date look into scientists’ use of the genome editing tool, CRISPR/Cas9. Our survey reveals that while the market is growing steadily, there are challenges confronting suppliers. For instance, Bioinformatics found that over a […]

The post Global CRISPR/Cas9 Genome Editing Products Market Report: Market Analysis, Survey Data, Toolbox for CRISPR/Cas9 Experiments, Future Needs, Competitive Landscape – ResearchAndMarkets.com appeared first on Fintech News.