TechFlow reported on October 29, according to CoinDesk, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said in an interview in Lugano, Switzerland, that if the U.S. government wanted to shut down Tether's operations, "they could terminate us anywhere with just the push of a button." The remarks came after the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into Tether.
As the largest stablecoin issuer with a market capitalization of $120 billion, Tether currently holds approximately $80 billion in U.S. Treasury bonds, custodied by Wall Street brokerage Cantor Fitzgerald. Ardoino emphasized that the company fully complies with regulations set by the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and collaborates with around 180 government agencies, including the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service.
In response to concerns about USDT being used for illicit financial activities, Ardoino stated these cases are merely "a drop in the ocean" compared to the U.S. dollar. He noted that Tether has actively frozen and blacklisted suspicious crypto wallets, adding, "It would be extremely foolish to attempt criminal activity using USDT or cryptocurrencies."
