Myanmar's NUG announces adoption of USDT as official currency

Stablecoins are the lesser-volatile counterparts of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, SHIB and more, pegged to a relatively stable and consistent asset class like the dollar.

Tether has, for long, been mired in various controversies, owning to the ambiguity that surrounds its digital currency-backing reserves of the dollar. It is essentially considered as a reserve for a particular asset, which in turn, are held as collateral. Simply put, for every 1 USDT, the company will have to compulsorily have $1 in their reserve. 

The same is likely in the case of Tether, which, per their website, claims to be “100% backed by reserves, which include traditional currency and cash equivalents and, from time to time, may include other assets and receivables. However, a recent investigation by the Office of Attorney General (OAG), New York had brought to light how Tether had inadequate reserves and had made false statements about these backings. 

A fresh disclosure by Tether holdings had reported holding assets worth $69 billion dollars, of which, $30.6 billion were in commercial paper and certificates of deposit, $7.2 billion were in cash, almost $1 billion in money market funds and $19 billion were held in Treasury bills.

In addition, it also listed $3.5 billion in secured loans to non-affiliated entities, $3.6 billion in corporate bonds, funds and precious metals, and $3.8 billion in other investments that include digital tokens. However, the document failed to clarify the country out of which these funds were based.