CFTC fines Tether $41M over claims that USDT was fully backed by dollars

Tether/USDT

The CFTC settled charges that Tether made untrue or misleading statements that USDT was fully backed by US dollars, ordering a $41M civil penalty. In a separate order, Bitfinex paid $1.5M for offering illegal off-exchange retail commodity trades to US persons. The case made reserve backing a regulatory issue for the largest stablecoin.

• Tether fine: $41M for misrepresenting USDT as 100% dollar-backed.
• Reality: Tether held sufficient fiat reserves only 27.6% of days during 26-month sample (2016-2018).
• Bitfinex fine: $1.5M for operating unregistered off-exchange retail commodity trading with US customers (March 2016 – December 2018).
• Significance: established reserve backing as a regulated, enforceable claim; set precedent for stablecoin oversight.