Tether CTO Criticizes Wall Street Journal Report on Secured Loans
Tether’s chief technology officer, Paolo Ardoino, has criticized a recent Wall Street Journal report that discussed the company’s USDT-denominated secured loans. The report included a comment from a company official explaining the circumstances in which the new loans were given out in the second quarter of this year. CoinGape previously reported that Tether was silently lending out again.
Financial Statement Contradiction
The issue revolves around Tether’s financial statement, which stated an increase in the issuing of USDT-denominated loans. This contradicts the company’s announcement to minimize its loan exposure to zero by 2023. In December 2022, Tether addressed concerns about rising secured loans by outlining a plan to reduce exposure. However, the recent quarterly report showed a slight increase in secured loans in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
Misquoted Tether Spokesperson
In addition, the WSJ report quoted a comment from Alex Welch, who was initially identified as a Tether spokesperson. Ardoino clarified that Welch was not even employed by Tether and therefore could not represent the company. Welch cited “few short-term loan requests from clients” as the reason for the rise in secured loans.
“The person that WSJ cites in its article is not a Tether spokesperson nor works at Tether, as that person repeatedly said in her correspondence with the tabloid.”
Tether’s Commitment to Reducing Loan Exposure
Ardoino stated that Tether is actually set to make a profit of $4 billion per year and is actively reducing exposure to secured loans. He emphasized that Tether remains committed to removing secured loans from its reserves entirely.
Hot Take: Tether Responds to Wall Street Journal’s Inaccurate Report on Secured Loans
Tether’s CTO, Paolo Ardoino, has criticized the Wall Street Journal for publishing a report that misquoted a supposed Tether spokesperson and wrongly portrayed the company’s stance on secured loans. Ardoino clarified that the individual quoted was not a Tether employee and emphasized Tether’s commitment to reducing loan exposure. The company plans to eliminate secured loans from its reserves entirely, despite a slight increase in such loans during 2023. It remains to be seen how this controversy will impact Tether’s reputation and the wider cryptocurrency market.
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