Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

finance.yahoo.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

101–110 of 149 posts

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#101

Post by smsm42 »

mteam88 wrote: post #46
woodruffw wrote: post #35

Weird phrasing. It isn't clear that responding to OFAC listings makes one a "partner" of the FBI or Secret Service; to my knowledge, entities that do business in the US (or anywhere the US's financial limbs can reach) have to respond to OFAC listings. Am I missing something here?

I think it relates to this quote from the article: "Tether is grateful for the opportunity to address the concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers, and we are committed to continuing Tether’s close work with law enforcement in the U.S. and globally. Tether seeks to be a world class partner to the U.S. as we continue to assist law enforcement and expand dollar hegemony globally." ~ a dedication to working together in the fut…

Corpspeak for "we follow the laws, please don't shut us down or fine us, we're the good guys".

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#102

Post by smsm42 »

b112 wrote: post #100
jakderrida wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I'm excited to work with the Philadelphia Police Department in our new partnership and am thankful they agreed to negotiate yet another meeting with the parole board after I helpfully divulge where I hid more of the remaining bodies." You really do catch more flies with honey.

They have absolutely no power in the relationship. It's do as legislated/court ordered, or pain. If there is 0 control over things, it's not a partnership.

Yes, they don't have any power. That doesn't prevent them from presenting it like they are eagerly collaborating. And why not? Nobody wants to piss off federal government or the Congress, it's better to show they love it.

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#103

Post by smsm42 »

crypt1d wrote: post #16
denlekke wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"disable its tokens" "freezing 326 wallets" no indication from this article that the tether has been seized / transferred

Tokens are frozen "in-place" pending investigation. It differs from how it works with btc, because the government does not have control of the private keys that manage the addresses in question - so they go to Tether who controls the smart contract that manages the transactions of the tokens. This, in practice, means that the US government controls the mentioned tokens for the moment. What happens with them depends e…

US govt could also create a govt wallet and force usdt to transfer the tokens there I imagine, if they want to proceed with seizure. They'd likely will need some legal framework for this but it's easily doable. Then us govt can auction it off as they like.

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#104

Post by smsm42 »

timmytokyo wrote: post #93
scaredginger wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain this 'common sense'? I was under the impression that Tether was in the business of taking USD (with the promise of returning it) and earning interest on that USD without paying any interest on it. If that's true, it sounds like a dream business to me

Anyone who's been paying attention knows that Tether is an opaque money-laundering scam, and it's only a matter of time before it totally unravels. The only reason Tether is making noises about cooperating with the US government is because they're being told in no uncertain terms that their continued near-term existence depends on it. Check back in a year. [1] https://amycastor.com/2023/12/28/crypto-collapse-mt-gox-p…

Isn't that the case for every business operating in the US anyway? If they don't cooperate with OFAC, they will find themselves in deep doodoo very fast. Has nothing to do with being scam or not scam, it's the law and compliance is not optional.

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#105

Post by kranke155 »

mteam88 wrote: post #47
kranke155 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This totally explains it. Tether should have been on the same court as FTX.

That is an unfounded assertion. SBF et al committed a crime and defrauded thousands. Tether is a profitable business cooperating with the US govt. Please don't dispense slanderous accusations unless you know what you are talking about.

You’re joking? Tether is a well known scam. We have no idea that they have any backing for the amount of tokens they’ve issued and we have significant indications they don’t.

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#106

Post by kranke155 »

redcobra762 wrote: post #42
Facemelters wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

?

Crypto bad, can’t you see? No need to justify claims when you’re bashing The Bad Thing.

Tether is a well known scam. We have no idea that they have any backing for the amount of tokens they’ve issued and we have significant indications they don’t.

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#107

Post by Zanfa »

Geisterde wrote: post #55
rossdavidh wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, basically you're correct, but they are claiming that they don't have to be pulled kicking and screaming into compliance, but rather they are easy for law enforcement to work with. In other words, please don't let the SEC find an excuse to go after us. To me, it's oddly reminiscent of SBF testifying to Congress that they were the responsible ones who are in favor of regulation on crypto, in order to polish the…

I dont think they will end up like cz, they are one of the biggest buyers of government bonds. The way skeptics in the space take it is that they offer an outlet for a cbdc thats compatible with the existing banking system.

Are they though? They say they are, but who knows?

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#108

Post by yieldcrv »

ThrustVectoring wrote: post #91
Animats wrote: post #2

Each disabled token is pure profit to Tether. They're not cashing them out to the US Treasury, as with Bitcoins recovered from criminal operations.

Each non-disabled token is also pure profit, they're not cashing them out in appreciable quantities to anyone .

Thats because people use the cash in Tether USDT there like their brokerage account: its accumulated from deposit and trading and rarely withdrawn to a bank account.

For example, if Charles Schwab created Schwab USD upon every fiat deposit, the growth and redemption distribution would be similar to Tether. People that can save and populate an investment account do that more than they ever actually withdraw to cause a redemption.

Re: Tether reveals partnerships with Secret Service, FBI in letter to U.S. Senate

#110

Post by hulitu »

duskwuff wrote: post #52
mteam88 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it relates to this quote from the article: "Tether is grateful for the opportunity to address the concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers, and we are committed to continuing Tether’s close work with law enforcement in the U.S. and globally. Tether seeks to be a world class partner to the U.S. as we continue to assist law enforcement and expand dollar hegemony globally." ~ a dedication to working together in the fut…

Which is itself a weird phrasing. OFAC compliance is an obligation, not an "opportunity".

Business is business. They are proactive in selling their service to the government.
Post reply on HN