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US Regulators To Subpoena Crypto Exchange Bitfinex, Tether (bloomberg.com)
U.S. regulators are scrutinizing one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges as questions mount over a digital token linked to its backers, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. From the report: The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission sent subpoenas last week to virtual-currency venue Bitfinex and Tether, a company that issues a widely traded coin and claims it's pegged to the dollar, according to a person familiar with the matter. The firms share the same chief executive officer. Tether's coins have become a popular substitute for dollars on cryptocurrency exchanges worldwide, with about $2.3 billion of the tokens outstanding as of Tuesday. While Tether has said all of its coins are backed by U.S. dollars held in reserve, the company has yet to provide conclusive evidence of its holdings to the public or have its accounts audited. Skeptics have questioned whether the money is really there.
Update: "Bitfinex'ed", a pseudonymous blogger whose been calling foul on Tether and Bitfinex for months, outlines steps he thinks exchanges that use Tether should take ASAP.
Update: "Bitfinex'ed", a pseudonymous blogger whose been calling foul on Tether and Bitfinex for months, outlines steps he thinks exchanges that use Tether should take ASAP.
Cryptocurrency is a very poor name for the "technology" of blockchains and coins. It is neither crypto nor currency. It is a digital trading system based on hashing proof of work. The actual ledger is completely open and verifiable, and has no cryptography in it. It has some degree of steganography in the form of hash checking to verify the prior block.
Using words for what they mean is important, and is being lost in this age of lies and misinformation.