Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has hit back at Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse over his recent comments that the US government is “going after” the world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether.
Ardoino took to social media platform
Ardoino noted that Garlinghouse’s comments were hypocritical, given that Ripple is under investigation by the SEC and is trying to launch a competing stablecoin.
Ripple plans to enter the stablecoin market in 2024 amid the ongoing lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Tether’s CEO said USDT is the largest stablecoin by market share with millions of users worldwide, has helped bank users in developing economies and has strong metrics:
“USDT has proven over time to have strong price stability, highly liquid reserves, first-class custodians, and deep compliance.”
Ardonio also listed several factors that make USDT compatible and one of the most widely used stablecoins. He said Tether has cooperated with 124 law enforcement agencies in more than 40 countries and has blocked assets worth more than $1.3 billion since its inception, linked to fraud, hacking and money laundering. Of these $1.3 billion in frozen assets, Tether has blocked more than $639 million from working with US law enforcement.
Related: Tether criticizes Deutsche Bank for suggesting its stablecoin may fail
Ardonio also revealed that in the past 12 months, Tether has voluntarily followed up on 198 requests from law enforcement to block wallets, 90 of which came from US law enforcement agencies and 339 in the past three years, of which 158 requests came from US law enforcement.
Ardonio concluded his tweet by mocking competing stablecoin issuers. He said Tether cooperates directly with law enforcement agencies while other issuers only abide by judicial orders:
“While other stablecoins, although claiming to be ‘more compliant’, require a judge order, allowing hackers, scammers and criminals to long ago move funds.”
The Tether CEO’s response came after Garlinghouse claimed there was a “100%” chance of another cryptocurrency-related black swan event occurring during a podcast interview. Ripple’s CEO said the US government is pursuing Tether without providing details on the reasons behind its valuation. However, Garlinghouse also acknowledged Tether’s role in the cryptocurrency market.
Many in the cryptocurrency community saw the Ripple CEO’s comments as an ominous sign of upcoming US regulatory action. While some claimed that this is just a competitive tactic as they will be launching a stablecoin soon.
Cointelegraph reached out to Tether for comment but had not received a response at the time of publication.
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