Tether Releases Letters Sent to US Senate Committee: Details

Tether, the company behind the largest stablecoin, has released the two letters it had sent to the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and House Financial Services Committee.

The letters are specifically addressed to pro-Bitcoin Senator Cynthia Lummis and Rep. French Hill.

The main goal of Tether’s letters is to address issues raised by both Lummis and Hill regarding the alleged use of stablecoins in illicit activities, such as funding terrorism and money laundering.

In the first, the stablecoin issuer highlighted its KYC and AML policies, including:

“The IRS has conducted a Title 31 examination of our KYC program on behalf of FinCEN. Tether has also retained a prominent Washington DC law firm to conduct an Independent Review of our KYC/AML, BSA, and On-Boarding program to ensure they are of the highest standards.”

The company added that it is “fully committed to the fight against terrorist financing, compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and U.S. Sanctions Laws, and meeting the highest levels of customer due diligence and rigorous transaction screening.”

The letter also outlined Tether’s recently implemented policy that allows it to freeze wallets and assets supposedly linked to illegal activities.

This was laid out in the second letter, in addition to:

“Tether’s active role in assisting law enforcement agencies, includes partnerships with the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Secret Service, and ongoing efforts to collaborate with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This collaboration aims to combat illegal activities and aid in fund recovery.”

The recently appointed CEO, Paolo Ardoino, said his firm is grateful for the possibility of addressing these issues with the US government. He added that Tether aims to be a “world class partner” of US authorities as they “continue to assist law enforcement and expand dollar hegemony globally.”

Tether is the largest stablecoin issuer. Its market dominance continues to increase as its market capitalization exceeded $90 billion just recently.