Tether, Bitfinex brace for ‘mercenary’ crypto market manipulation lawsuits

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Tether and its sister company Bitfinex are expecting a lawsuit to be filed against them based on new research accusing them of market manipulation. However, the two companies are prepared to defend themselves, declaring that such actions wouldn’t bear any fruit.

Tether has long been on the spotlight for market manipulation, with several reports in the past accusing the company of printing USDT tokens arbitrarily in order to influence the crypto prices. The company has always been quick to dismiss such reports, but they just keep coming.

The latest one accuses the company, together with Bitfinex exchange of crypto market manipulation. However, the two companies dismissed the report in separate statements, with Tether deeming it as “an unpublished and non-peer reviewed paper falsely positing that Tether issuances are responsible for manipulating the cryptocurrency market.”

The statement further accused the report of relying on “flawed assumptions, incomplete and cherry-picked data, and faulty methodology.”

Nevertheless, Tether expects that “mercenary lawyers” will use this report to file lawsuits against it, and it claims to be fully prepared for such events.

The company stated, “In advance of any filing, we want to make clear our position that any claims based on these insinuations are meritless, reckless and a shameless attempt at a money grab. Accordingly, Tether will vigorously defend itself in any such action.”

On its part, Bitfinex was also categorical in attacking the report. Part of its statement stated, “Bitfinex and its affiliates have never used Tether tokens or issuances to manipulate the cryptocurrency market or token pricing. All Tether tokens are fully backed by reserves and are issued and traded on Bitfinex pursuant to market demand, and not for the purpose of controlling the pricing of crypto assets.”

While Tether has continued to deny any market manipulation tactics, several events have put into doubt its sincerity. As CoinGeek reported, the company was caught printing $300 million worth of USDT for a swap, but ‘forgetting’ to burn the USDT after the supposed swap. This wasn’t the first time either. In July, the company was supposed to print $50 million in USDT for a swap but ‘accidentally’ printed $5 billion.