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💥Tether Papers: This is exactly who acquired 70% of all USDT ever issued💥
November 10, 2022
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If cryptocurrency was an engine, Tether (USDT) is one of its pistons.

Over the past seven years, the maverick stablecoin has evolved into a primary crutch for the ecosystem. It’s a tool for onboarding new money, managing and growing liquidity, pricing digital assets, and generally oiling crypto markets to keep them smooth.

Tether boasted a $1 billion market capitalization when Bitcoin hit $20,000 at the end of 2017. This year, it’s a $70 billion-plus powerhouse. 

Practically every crypto exchange supports USDT trade in some form. The makeup of Tether’s reserves and its inner workings are yet to be disclosed in clear detail.

Still, the question of who exactly buys Tether directly from its parent company Bitfinex has remained unanswered since its inception way back in 2014.

Earlier this year, Protos shed light on that mystery by reporting that just two companies, Alameda Research and Cumberland Global, were responsible for seeping roughly two-thirds of all Tether into the crypto ecosystem.

Today, we reveal a lot more. 

We’ve spent months cataloguing and investigating every single USDT ever sent to and from Tether, across the eight blockchains and layers on which it currently exists: Omni (Bitcoin), Liquid (Bitcoin), Ethereum, Tron, Simple Ledger Protocol (Bitcoin Cash), EOS, Solana, and Algorand.

Here’s what we found.

Birds-eye view of Tether

Protos pulled blockchain data from all disclosed Tether Treasuries and Printers across the various layers, stretching back to 2014 until October 31, 2021.

We then filtered out transactions between Printers and Treasuries, as our analysis is primarily concerned with USDT sent to and received from third parties.

After accounting for disclosed chain swaps (the process of transferring already-issued USDT between protocols), blockchain data shows Tether:

  • distributed $108.5 billion in USDT,
  • received $32.7 billion in USDT in that same period,
  • sent a staggering majority of USDT directly to market makers and liquidity providers.

It must be noted that the figures cited in this analysis won’t always map one-to-one with Tether’s circulating supply.

Remember, we’ve tracked Tether Treasuries’ outflows and inflows; those volumes will not reflect Tether’s market value exactly (implying that Tether understandably recycles some USDT sent back to its Treasuries).

To make it clear: we’ve analyzed USDT flowing out of Tether Treasuries and linked blockchain addresses to specific entities.

Some of these entities maintain crypto exchanges; the data presented here relates specifically to their operational addresses as companies and not their exchange wallets, be they hot or cold.

Market makers, for our purposes, are simply defined as entities that have received multiple individual transactions from Tether Treasuries of $100 million USDT or more.

The term “market maker” traditionally refers to entities able to profit on the spread of assets (the difference in price between buy and sell orders).

Since it’s unclear which entities in the crypto ecosystem are strictly market making and which also utilize high frequency trading, proprietary trading desks, or operate venture capital funds, this is our attempt to delineate between them (albeit with a broad definition).

Within the context of Tether, market makers eke out gains by supplying crypto exchanges like Binance, Huobi, and FTX with liquidity for their various USDT trading pairs.

  • Tether supplied categorized “market makers” with 89.2% of all USDT ($97 billion) it sent.
  • Trading funds and other miscellaneous companies received $9.2 billion (8.5%).
  • Smaller transactions deemed to have been received by “individuals” amounted to $2.35 billion (2.3%).

As Protos reported in August, market makers Alameda Research (spearheaded by crypto billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried) and Cumberland Global (a subsidiary of trading giant DRW) are still the biggest fish in Tether markets.

Together, Alameda and Cumberland received at least $60.3 billion in USDT across the time period analyzed, equal to around 55% of all outbound volume — ever.

$49.2 billion (71%) of Alameda and Cumberland’s USDT was acquired in the past year alone, equal to about 60% of all Tether issued in that time.

Market makers (Tether’s biggest customers)

Alameda Research

Alameda Research describes itself as a “multistage crypto and fintech investment firm,” and it made 29-year-old chief exec Bankman-Fried crypto’s richest billionaire (Forbes estimates his wealth at $26.5 billion).

Bankman-Fried founded Alameda Research in 2017 after leaving quant shop Jane Street. He opted to brand the fund a “research” unit to avoid banking problems as it started arbitrage Bitcoin trade in Japan.

The firm has historically been headquartered in Hong Kong, but recently announced plans to ship over to another tax haven, Nassau.

We’ve identified more than 70% of all USDT ever issued. For more information on the remaining 30%, please visit our FAQ.

Alameda Research wears multiple hats. It’s the parent company of crypto and crypto derivatives exchange FTX, but it’s also a quantitative trader, and serves as a venture capitalist across the ecosystem.

The firm has led an impressive 18 funding rounds and participated in 71 more, according to Crunchbase.

One of Alameda’s most notable moves was its participation in ‘Ethereum killer’ Solana’s $314 million token sale earlier this year, alongside Polychain Capital and CoinShares.

Alameda Research’s lead brain Bankman-Fried is one of Solana’s most vocal proponents. Solana’s native token SOL has since grown to become the fifth most-valued cryptocurrency at press time, just behind Tether.

  • Tether sent almost $36.7 billion in USDT to Alameda Research.
  • $31.7 billion (86%) was received in the past year.
  • Alameda Research accounted for 37% of all outbound volume. 

While Tether sent nearly $30.1 billion (87%) of Alameda’s USDT directly to FTX, blockchain data shows Alameda operating on a number of other crypto exchanges.

Alameda also received:

  • $2.1 billion (6%) on Binance, 
  • $1.7 billion (5%) on Huobi, 
  • $115 million (less than 1%) to OKEx. 

The rest of Alameda’s Tether ($705 million, 2%) was sent to non-exchange addresses.

Cumberland Global

Cumberland Global is the crypto-trading subsidiary of markets powerhouse DRW, founded in 1992 by chief exec Donald R. Wilson.

As we reported in August, DRW is one of finance’s top dogs, particularly in futures markets (the Financial Times previously said the unit is “an important source” of futures trading volume across the globe).

Cumberland was first launched in 2014, during DRW’s gruelling five-year battle with the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) over alleged market manipulation — which it won in 2018.

Cumberland says it onboards wealthy individuals and financial institutions to the crypto ecosystem.

One of those clients is VanEck. The US Securities and Exchange Commission visited DRW in 2019 to discuss the listing of VanEck’s SolidX Bitcoin Trust on Cboe. 

VanEck’s Trust was eventually offered to institutional investors via over-the-counter desks like the ones DRW operates.

  • Tether sent $23.7 billion in USDT to Cumberland.
  • $17.6 billion (74%) was received in the past year.
  • Cumberland received 22% of all outbound volume. 

It has long been suspected, but Protos can confirm that Cumberland is one of Binance’s primary liquidity providers and market makers, and has been on the exchange since around early 2019.

Tether issued Cumberland $18.7 billion in USDT (79%) directly to Binance, and a much smaller amount to other exchanges:

  • $131.5 million (less than 1%) on Poloniex. 
  • $9 million (less than 1%) on Bitfinex.
  • $30 million (less than 1%) on both Huobi and OKEx.

The rest of Cumberland’s Tether ($4.9 billion, 21%) was sent to non-exchange addresses.

iFinex

iFinex is the mother company to its more well-known subsidiaries Bitfinex and Tether. The group has existed in the cryptocurrency space since 2013 and has survived three different hacks, regulatory scrutiny, and extended criticism from online commentators and mainstream media.

iFinex operates as a lender, exchange, stablecoin issuer, VC fund, and trading desk. It has a parent company, the Hong Kong-registered DigFinex.

It’s difficult to determine exactly which country iFinex, Bitfinex, and Tether operates out of: there are no actual offices. Instead, the organization is a mesh of shell companies located in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and other jurisdictions.

iFinex owners and shareholders seem to be the same individuals who launched it: chief exec JL Van der Velde and chief financial officer Giancarlo Devasini — the two-man team leading Bitfinex and Tether (both multi-billion dollar companies). 

Chief technology officer Paolo Ardoino began working for the pair in 2016. Functionally, as the creators of Tether, they work with everyone who receives USDT.

  • Tether sent at least $4.5 billion in USDT to iFinex.
  • Only $197.5 million (4%) of that was in the past year.
  • iFinex received at least 4% of all outbound volume.

As to be expected, iFinex was one of Tether’s first true “market makers.” The Hong Kong-headquartered firm issued iFinex $4.5 billion in USDT between October 2016 and the start of 2020 — equal to 96% of iFinex’s trackable receipts.

  • $4.46 billion (9.99%) was sent directly to Bitfinex.
  • $1.1 million (less than 1%) was issued to wallets unrelated to Bitfinex.
  • iFinex received at least 4% of all USDT issued across the time period analyzed.

iFinex and its subsidiaries have invested in several other ventures, including but not limited to Netki (a digital identity company) and Exordium (a video game company owned by Blockstream’s Samson Mow).

Nexo

Zug-registered Nexo is a sizable player in the DeFi ecosystem. It operates an exchange, a crypto lending service, and an over-the-counter trading desk.

Nexo’s crypto platform offers yield on a raft of cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins like Tether.

Nexo has been around since 2017, having deployed its own utility token NEXO in May 2018.

Understandably, Nexo handles large amounts of USDT to help manage its activities within the space.

  • Tether sent Nexo $2.6 billion in USDT.
  • Practically all of that was in the past year.
  • Nexo received a touch over 2% of all outbound volume. 

The group doesn’t issue directly to exchanges, instead relying on intermediary wallets to manage its USDT.

Nexo directed at least $1.7 billion USDT directly to its own platform, but similarly to Alameda Research, it is active across multiple exchanges.

As for where Nexo directs its USDT (these figures also include USDT inflows not directly from Tether Treasuries), the unit:

  • sent roughly $1.45 billion in USDT to Binance, 
  • directed $111 million in USDT to Huobi,
  • and deposited more than $57 million USDT to FTX.

Nexo also administered $39 million USDT to defunct Chinese exchange RenRenBit, and $84 million USDT to Bitfinex.

(NB: Nexo and other entities named in this research are known to handle funds on behalf of their clients. So, it could be that some of their outflowing USDT was processed for those parties.)

The firm sent roughly $35 million in USDT to addresses not linked directly to exchanges.

Last month, the New York Attorney General issued Nexo a cease and desist notice to stop it from offering services to crypto users in the state.

At the time, its chief exec Antoni Trenchev said the company had already initiated IP-based geo-blocking to keep New Yorkers out.

Heka

Heka is a market-neutral market maker operated by academics from the University of Malta and several other Maltese individuals. Specifically named in the Paradise Papers are Professor Simon Grima, Dr. Frank Dimech, as well as Joseph Xuerub and Adrian Galea.

The price per share to invest in Heka’s private fund is public and has increased by nearly 100% over three years. Minimum investment amount is $85,000. 

Recently, Heka seems to be tied to Abraxas Capital Management — a company controlled by professional portfolio manager Fabio Frontini and based in London.

  • Tether sent Heka more than $1.5 billion in USDT.
  • $1.1 billion (71%) of that was distributed in the past year.
  • Heka received about 1.5% of all Tether ever distributed.

Heka is primarily a cryptocurrency trading operation. So, naturally it requested Tether directly to the various exchanges it inhabits.

Overall, Heka utilized: 

  • at least $1.05 billion in USDT (68%) on Bitfinex, 
  • more than $144 million (9%) on Binance,
  • and $132 million (8.5%) on Huobi.

Heka also traded on the no-longer-operational RenRenBit ($90 million, 6%), as well as the popular platform Kraken, where it received $60.4 million (4%).

Just over $70 million (4.5%) in USDT was sent to non-exchange addresses under Heka’s control.

Indeed, Heka moves hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Tether and yet they have no website, no way to reach out to them, and no real internet presence whatsoever. 

The reason they’ve been flagged is their discoverability through the Paradise Papers. None of the individuals from Heka responded for comment.

Jump Crypto

Last September, Chicago-bound trading giant Jump Trading made a widely publicized crypto push by investing in decentralized exchange Serum, on Solana.

Serum and Jump had inked a deal for an undisclosed amount that would see the outfit provide the liquidity necessary to make Serum-powered platforms like Mango Markets usable.

Since then, Tether has issued Jump:

  • at least $1.1 billion in USDT on Solana this year,
  • equal to almost 99% of all USDT that exists on that blockchain.
  • Jump Crypto is considered the top liquidity provider to Mango Markets and Solana overall.

Jump “officially” spun out its Crypto subsidiary this September. 

At the time, press materials said Jump Crypto builds tooling and other software infrastructure for blockchains, as well as being an “active participant in trading and market-making activities that help make global crypto markets more efficient.”

While Jump’s crypto activities have been mostly undisclosed, reports indicate the unit has been particularly active on crypto exchanges Bitfinex and BitMEX

This makes it likely that Jump makes up a considerable amount of the unidentified Tether amounts cited in this analysis, particularly those to Bitfinex.

Funds and companies (Tether’s medium-sized customers)

Protos sorted entities into the ‘funds and companies’ bracket if they often received USDT transactions in lots between $10 million and $100 million at a time.

Many of the entities in this category are hedge funds and trading units, which generate profit by investing and trading cryptocurrencies.

Multiple entities maintain over-the-counter trading desks and other arbitrage units to exploit price differences between exchanges.

Three Arrows

Three Arrows Capital is run by popular crypto personalities Su Zhu and Kyle Davies. It has registered business addresses in both Singapore (where it maintains an office) and the British Virgin Islands.

As of 2020, the company had a large interest in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. The reason Three Arrows has two registered business addresses is likely due to the rule in Singapore that says it cannot control more than (S)$250 million ($183 million) in assets at any given time.

  • Tether sent Three Arrows at least $674 million in USDT.
  • At least $502 million (74%) of that was in the past year.
  • Three Arrows has received at a minimum 7.3% of all USDT in the ‘funds and companies’ bracket.

Three Arrows describes itself as a crypto hedge fund that provides “risk-adjusted returns,” and it operates similarly to Heka.

The group mostly trades and invests in cryptocurrencies for profit, as opposed to the large-scale liquidity provision exacted by the likes of Alameda and Cumberland.

It also acts as a venture capitalist on occasion. Most recently, Three Arrows backed Sam Altman’s Worldcoin, a controversial biometric data-farming gambit that pays individuals to scan their irises for a small amount of cryptocurrency. 

Unlike Heka, Three Arrows receives USDT from Tether to an intermediary address before distributing it to trading platforms like Huobi and Binance. 

Stablecoins aside, Three Arrows’ main address has mostly traded:

  • Ethereum and Ethereum-bound Bitcoin (WBTC),
  • DeFi platform Yearn Finance’s native token (YFI),
  • Exchange tokens like FTX’s FTT, Uniswap (UNI), and SushiSwap (SUSHI).

Three Arrows has also handled significant amounts of yield tokens Compound (COMP) and Aave (AAVE), as well as blockchain oracle token Chainlink (LINK).

It’s worth noting that Three Arrows — like the other entities in this analysis — has handled significantly more than $674 million USDT in its history. The figures cited above only relate to the tokens it received directly from Tether Treasuries.

Three Arrows has also sent Tether Treasuries far more USDT than the figures listed here (more on that later). 

Blockchain data also indicates that Three Arrows switched to receiving USDT directly to exchanges earlier this year — likely to Binance. 

So, some portion of the “Binance Market Maker” volumes cited earlier almost certainly belongs to Three Arrows.

Bitquery shows that Three Arrows has collectively been sent billions in USDT from exchanges Binance, Bitfinex, and FTX, funds it acquires by trading digital assets.

Delchain

Delchain is a peculiar piece of the Tether puzzle. It’s owned and operated by Tether’s primary banking partner, Deltec Bank and Trust.

Paolo Ardoino, Tether and Bitfinex’s CTO, briefly served as a director, and Janvier Chalopin, the son of the Deltec Bank and Trust’s chief exec, is a director.

Delchain, though established in 2019, has still moved a significant amount of Tether and partners with many influential cryptocurrency companies, including Bitfinex, Kraken, and Tether itself.

  • Tether sent Delchain at least $908 million in USDT.
  • USDT was distributed steadily over time — 63% of it in the past year.
  • Delchain received about 10% of all USDT from the ‘funds and companies’ bracket.

Overall, Delchain directed: 

  • About $694 million (76%) of its USDT to Bitfinex,
  • $211 million (23%) to Kraken,
  • and $3.2 million (less than 1%) to Binance.

Blockchain Access and RenRenBit

UK-based market maker Blockchain Access is another notable entity to have received large amounts of USDT directly from Tether.

Blockchain Access manages crypto exchange Blockchain.com — headquartered in Luxembourg. It received more than $881 million in USDT, with $679 million (77%) issued in the past year.

We tracked Blockchain Access’ USDT to crypto exchanges including Binance, FTX, Bitfinex, and Nexo. It has also handled significant amounts of Basic Attention Token (BAT), DeFi token Aave, as well as Chainlink, OMG Network, and Origin Network.

Lastly, RenRenBit. The Singapore-headquartered company that serviced the China-based exchange of the same name was issued over $200 million in USDT.

(NB: Bitfinex’s AML agent was once a Hong Kong firm “Renrenbee Ltd,” highlighting how close RenRenBit’s relationship was with Bitfinex).

Individual traders (Tether’s smallest customers)

For our ‘individuals’ bracket, we considered entities to be individual traders if Tether issued them USDT valued under $10 million at a time.

This is obviously not perfect, however considering the volumes linked to aforementioned funds, companies, and market makers, this proves an effective method of separating crypto trading enterprises from individual crypto traders.

The first character on our list is tied to multiple companies, but according to information gathered by Protos, they also were issued Tether under their personal name.

Shilong’s Web, Tether’s most curious customer

Shilong Wang is a curiosity, to say the least. They appear, on the surface, to handle USDT for a raft of trading firms, including little-known managers Paretone Capital, Aoide Capital, Max Victory Wealth Management, and ZB Trade — registered to tax havens around the world.

Paretone and Aoide curiously share a physical address in San Jose, California at Hanhai Park. Their co-founder and chief exec is listed as a “Keke Wang” on Aoide’s website, who is noticeably absent from any corporate filings.

Protos visited Paretone and Aoide’s purported offices but found no mention of either firm on the building’s office guide.

We refers to Shilong-connected entities as “Shilong’s Web.”

  • Tether issued Shilong’s Web $595 million in USDT.
  • Roughly 1% of it was received in the past year.
  • Shilong’s Web is responsible for 6.5% of the ‘funds and companies’ bracket.

It should be highlighted just how important a customer Shilong was to Tether. In the second half of 2019, Shilong’s Web represented over 5% of all USDT ever issued — just before the likes of Alameda and Cumberland took such a keen interest.

Shilong’s Web unexpectedly transacted semi-frequently with Cumberland Global:

  • Shilong’s Web sent Cumberland $20.4 million in USDT between April and August 2019.
  • Cumberland directed $1.14 million in USDT back to Shilong’s Web in April 2019.
  • It’s likely Cumberland operates over-the-counter services for trading entities like Shilong’s.

Shilong’s Web deposited its USDT to exchanges like Huobi and Binance, but it was also responsible for sending over $108 million in USDT to long-serving Japanese exchange Bitbank.

Christopher Harborne (the Brexit Bankroller)

As we reported in April, Christopher Harborne made international headlines as Brexit’s bankroller. 

He personally donated in total $19 million to political party Reform UK — the lead lobbying group behind the UK’s successful bid to leave the European Union.

Harborne’s web of shell companies were made public in the Panama Papers. 

Harborne first appeared as a DigFinex shareholder (iFinex, Bitfinex, and Tether’s parent company) under his alternative Thai identity Chakrit Sakunkrit between 2017 and 2018.

This means Harborne was a DigFinex shareholder at the time of his donations to Reform UK. It’s common for individuals who do continued business in Thailand to adopt a local moniker.

He’s also the father of Will Harborne, chief exec of decentralized exchange DiversiFi, which started out Ethfinex, a sister company to Bitfinex. DiversiFi spun out from Bitfinex in 2019.

Protos can now reveal that Tether issued Harborne more than $70 million in USDT under his Thai name in early 2019.

TRON’s Justin Sun

Notorious marketeer and TRON founder Justin Sun has received more Tether than any other individual. 

We first made Sun’s prolific Tether buying public in August. In total, he’s acquired at least $200 million in USDT. Most of the funds we’ve linked to Sun were sent throughout 2019 and 2020.

Sun received nearly $50 million in USDT directly on Binance. It’s likely he’s received a lot more to both unidentified wallets and various exchanges.

Sun was notably the first ever recipient of Tether on the TRON blockchain in April 2019. He’s evolved to become a prolific investor in NFTs and his exploits across the DeFi ecosystem have made him a popular crypto figure.

Blockchain data also shows he sent $120 million back to Tether Treasuries.

Tether returned to Treasuries (inflows)

Tether inflows — funds sent back to Tether Treasuries — are comparatively more difficult to track than outflows.

While Protos has identified more than 70% worth of USDT ever issued, more than 80% of USDT ever returned to Treasuries came from cryptocurrency exchanges. 

This makes the sender of those transactions practically impossible to identify.

  • $23 billion in USDT (62%) was returned in lots over $100 million (market makers). 
  • $12.7 billion (34%) was sent in batches between $10 million and $100 million (funds and companies).
  • $1.5 billion (4%) flowed into Treasuries in sums under $10 million (individual traders).

We did manage to track USDT inflows for two prominent entities: Three Arrows and Nexo.

While Three Arrows did switch from having USDT issued to third party wallets to exchanges like Binance instead, it kept retrieving funds from various exchanges to its main wallet before returning to Tether.

  • Three Arrows sent back nearly $1.96 billion in USDT in the time period analyzed.
  • More than $1.1 billion (58%) was returned as crypto markets peaked between late April and May this year.
  • Three Arrows is responsible for 5.2% of all USDT ever sent back to Treasuries.

As for Nexo, it followed similar patterns as Three Arrows — pulling funds back from the various exchanges on which it operates before returning USDT to Treasuries.

  • Nexo sent $1.74 billion in USDT back to Tether Treasuries.
  • Nearly $1.75 billion (94%) was returned between the second half of May and late July, 2021 (as markets bottomed out).
  • Nexo was behind 4.7% of all USDT sent back to Tether Treasuries.

What the Tether Papers mean

It must be stressed that Protos is not explicitly alleging any wrongdoing on behalf of any of the entities detailed in this investigation.

But importantly, crypto traders on most exchanges should understand the sheer size of who they could be trading against. 

The exact size of market makers like Cumberland and Alameda — as well as funds like Heka, Three Arrows, and Delchain — are previously unreported

These entities are undoubtedly dominant forces across multiple platforms, with the ability to easily out-trade smaller crypto investors.

Numerous other large and unnamed trading funds have acquired hundreds of millions of dollars in USDT. These companies are mostly registered to tax havens like the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, and the Seychelles.

Some, similarly to Shilong’s Web, have sent and received USDT from major players like Cumberland Global, while others assisted prominent projects such as Decentraland to manage Ether raised throughout their ICOs. 

The total value of the Tether in the ‘other funds and companies’ bracket exceeded $7 billion. Protos will reveal information about these companies in future investigations.

Still, we emphasize that Tether has indisputably embedded itself within the crypto ecosystem, and for better or worse, serves a purpose within it.

So, it stands to reason that any firm or individual who operates within the crypto space is likely to interact with USDT at some point.

It’s worth highlighting that funds like Three Arrows effectively make use of the Tether they receive, as proven by inflow patterns.

Three Arrows was able to acquire USDT in the leadup to a giant crypto bull run, and then return those funds as the market was cooling off. 

This shows that USDT can be utilized for profit — as it should. It is the leading stablecoin, and allowing traders a neutral zone to trade in and out of their crypto positions is its entire business model.

💥But the exact workings of Tether are unclear. Quite literally, nobody knows precisely how Tether operates — or which companies’ commercial paper make up an overwhelming majority of its assets backing USDT.💥

💥We understand that Tether lends out its USDT in overcollateralized loans, likely for Bitcoin and Ether, but Tether has never formally disclosed how those operations work.💥

💥In fact, Tether has gone out of its way to obfuscate the services it provides to the crypto industry.💥

Discounts for large issuances are rumored. In our research, we are yet to find any confirmation of any discounts for USDT purchases.

But what is proven is that Bankman-Fried’s Alameda Research and Cumberland Global are two prolific Tether buyers that trust USDT is valued correctly.

Together, they’ve acquired at least $60 billion worth of USDT in the past two years. They inject liquidity into the ecosystem’s leading exchanges based on their trust in Tether, which in turn provides markets with the confidence that 1 USDT is equal to $1.

💥Whether that’s true all the time — unfortunately nobody knows for sure.💥

Regardless, Cumberland and Alameda, and to a lesser extent units like Jump Crypto, believe every USDT is always “fully backed by Tether’s reserves,” and that Tether has enough cash on hand to service dollar redemptions.

In the time between the end of Protos’ data analysis (October 31 until today), Tether has printed more than $4 billion worth of its stablecoin, bringing the total USDT in circulation to nearly $75 billion.

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THE U.S. IS OFFICIALLY DARING FOREIGN REGULATORS TO FIND A FLAW IN THEIR ENCRYPTION. 🇺🇸

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🧬Bypass Your Mindset: Using Ultrasound For A Biological Override🧬

Stop pretending your "mindset" is the driver of your reality. Your biology is a machine, and most of us are running on glitchy, outdated code.

What if you could bypass the agonizingly slow process of meditation and talk directly to your nervous system using sound?

Ultrasound is no longer just for imaging. We are now using sonic precision to stimulate the vagus nerve—non-invasively and without permission from your conscious mind.

We are vibrating the bridge between the brainstem and the gut to force neuroplasticity. This isn't "wellness." It’s a biological override.

By targeting the vagus nerve with pulses, we recalibrate autonomic balance, crushing sympathetic overdrive and amplifying parasympathetic tone.

We are talking about enhancing synaptic remodeling and suppressing inflammatory markers like IL-6 without a single pill or surgical incision.

Why wait for years of therapy when you can engage in direct neural engineering?

The future isn't about "finding yourself." It’s ...

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🧬VINDICATED! The Epstein Files Connect Gates, Pandemics & Censorship to a Globalist Blueprint for a Biosecurity State🧬

Every warning. Every documentary. Every article. Every post that got us banned. All of it was true. Now what? What can we do? Read on, share this Substack, help us save lives! The Light is shining! ✨

Well, well, well… look what the cat dragged in.

Actually, scratch that. Look what the Department of Justice finally dragged out of Jeffrey Epstein’s email inbox and dumped on the world’s doorstep like a rotting corpse nobody wanted to claim. Yep, that’s right. The Epstein files. It’s hilarious how the “Democratic hoax” and “fantasy” client list we were all told didn’t exist suddenly became a very real, very unsealed document.

For years—years—they called us conspiracy theorists. They slapped “misinformation” labels on our posts faster than Pfizer could print liability waivers. They kicked us off platforms, lied about us in the media, and shadow-banned our reach. Meanwhile, the real conspiracy—the one typed out in black-and-white emails between billionaires, bankers, and a convicted pedophile—was sitting in a government vault, waiting to prove us right.

And now? Now the receipts are public.

The release of Jeffrey Epstein’s files has done far more than expose a network of elite pedophilia and blackmail—it has vindicated truth-tellers like us and countless others who were smeared, censored, de-platformed, and persecuted for warning about the sinister agendas of the globalist elite. The documents reveal shocking connections between Epstein, Bill Gates, pandemic planning, and the systematic suppression of anyone who dared to connect the dots.

We weren’t crazy. We were just early. And they hated us for it.

Epstein, Gates, and the Pandemic “Business Model” They Built Together

One of the most damning revelations from Epstein’s files is his partnership with Bill Gates. Forget the carefully crafted PR spin about “regretting” those meetings. These weren’t casual dinners. These were planning sessions.

Back in 2015, Gates and Epstein exchanged emails about “preparing for pandemics” and strategies to “involve the WHO.” Gates wrote: I hope we can pull this off.”

How’s that for a chill down your spine?

This eerily foreshadowed the 2019 Event 201 simulation—a pandemic exercise hosted by the Gates Foundation, Johns Hopkins, and the World Economic Forum that just happened to model a global coronavirus outbreak… just months before COVID-19 ”mysteriously” emerged in Wuhan. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

But let’s rewind even further, to the real blueprint—the financial architecture that made the pandemic response not just possible, but profitable.

The story crystallizes in a chilling 2011 email exchangeJuliet Pullis, a JPMorgan executive under then-chairman Jes Staley, emailed Jeffrey Epstein with a list of detailed questions. The source? “The JPM team that is putting together some ideas for Gates.

The questions were precise: What are the objectives? Is anonymity key? Who directs the investments and grants? This wasn’t JPMorgan consulting an expert; it was a trillion-dollar bank asking a convicted felon to architect a billion-dollar philanthropic fund for Bill Gates.

This wasn’t JPMorgan consulting a philanthropic expert. This was a trillion-dollar bank asking a convicted felon to architect a billion-dollar philanthropic fund for one of the richest men on Earth. Let that marinate for a moment.

Epstein’s reply was fluent and commanding. He described a donor-advised fund with a “stellar board” and ties to the Gates-Buffett “Giving Pledge.” He noted the billions already pledged and identified the gap: “They all have a tax advisor, but have no real clue on how to give it away.” His solution? JPM would be an integral part. Not advisor… operator, compliance. Staley’s response: We need to talk.

By July 2011, the plan evolved. In an email to Staley, copying Boris Nikolic (Gates’ chief science advisor), Epstein laid out the core pitch: A silo based proposal that will get Bill more money for vaccines.”

Not “more research for pandemics.” Not “better public health infrastructure.” More money for vaccines.” This is the unambiguous language of capital formation, not charity. It reveals the structure’s intended output planning reached the highest levels.

In August 2011, Mary Erdoes, CEO of JPMorgan’s $2+ trillion Asset & Wealth Management division, emailed Epstein (while on vacation) with additional operational questions.

Epstein’s reply was breathtaking in scope:

  • Scale: “Billions of dollars” in two years, “tens of billions by year 4.”

  • Structure: Donors choose from “silos” like mutual funds.

  • The Kicker: However, we should be ready with an offshore arm — especially for vaccines.”

An offshore arm. For vaccines. For a charitable vehicle. Let that sink in.

So, by the time the world was panicking in March 2020, the financial machinery was already built. The investment vehicles, the donor-advised funds, the reinsurance products at places like Swiss Re, and even the simulation playbooks were dusted off and ready to go.

The pandemic wasn’t an interruption to their business—it was the Grand Opening.

Epstein’s role extended far beyond trafficking; he was a facilitator and blackmail operative for the global elite. The same forces that orchestrated the COVID-19 power grab—the mask mandates, lockdowns, censorship, and coercive mRNA push—are the ones who silenced critics like us.

Gates, despite his documented ties to Epstein (multiple flights on the “Lolita Express” after Epstein’s 2008 conviction), walks freely. He’s on TV. He’s advising governments. He’s still funding “global health initiatives” and pushing digital IDs, vaccine passports, and climate lockdowns.

Meanwhile, people like our friend, Joby Weeks, are under house arrest without charges, and voices like ours were de-platformed, demonetized, and destroyed for saying this very thing.

We told you. You knew it in your gut. Now you have the emails.

Censorship: The Elite’s “Misinformation” Label to Cover Their Crimes

The Epstein files expose not just criminal behavior, but the playbook for the systematic suppression of truth. While Epstein’s powerful friends were being protected by the FBI, the DOJ, and the media, platforms like Facebook (Meta), YouTube (Google), and Twitter went to war against anyone talking about it.

Think about the sheer audacity.

We were banned from social media for calling COVID-19 a “fake pandemic” and exposing the vaccine injury data that’s now undeniable.

Below is a screenshot of the first Facebook post that was taken down and then used as “Exhibit A” in their “reports” about how bad we were, naming us the 3rd most dangerous people on earth after Dr Joseph Mercola and Bobby Kennedy in the digital hit list they called the “Disinformation Dozen.” They attacked us, lied about us, and pressured the media, social media, and population at large to do the same: attack, threaten, and cast us out.

We were labeled “dangerous” for sharing emails, documents, and research that the DOJ and the CDC have now confirmed.

It was never about “safety.” It was about narrative control.

The same institutions that turned a blind eye to Epstein’s crimes for decades—the same ones that let him “commit suicide” in a maximum-security prison with cameras conveniently malfunctioning—suddenly became the ruthless hall monitors of “acceptable discourse,” ensuring only their approved stories could be told.

Big Tech, Big Media, and Big Government are all part of the same protection racket. They shielded Epstein’s client list, and now they shield the architects of the pandemic debacle. Independent journalists, researchers, and health advocates like us, who connected these dots, were systematically de-platformed, demonetized, and destroyed.

Why? Because we were right, and that was the greatest threat of all.

When you’re over the target, that’s when the flak gets heaviest. And brothers and sisters, we were getting shelled.

They Lied About Us While Protecting the Real Criminals

Let’s be crystal clear about what happened here.

We have spent decades exposing the cancer industry, Big Pharma’s corruption, and the suppression of natural health solutions. We produced The Truth About Cancer docu-series, reaching millions worldwide. We warned about vaccine injuries, censorship, and the coming medical tyranny years before COVID-19.

And what did they do? They called us “Conspiracy Theorists,” “Anti-Vaxxers,” and “Killers.” Dangerous.

They said we were killing people with “misinformation.”

Facebook banned us. YouTube deleted our videos. Legacy media ran hit pieces. PayPal froze our accounts.

All while Bill Gates—a man with documented ties to Jeffrey Epstein, who flew on his plane multiple times after Epstein’s conviction, who got STDs from Russian girls Epstein provided for him for which Gates asked Epstein’s help getting him antibiotics to slip secretly to his then wife, Melinda, so that she would not know about his inexcusable and perverted escapades—yes, THAT Bill Gates—was at the same time, being platformed on every major news network as the world’s health oracle.

All while Anthony Fauci—who funded gain-of-function research in Wuhan through Peter Daszak and EcoHealth Alliance, who lied under oath to Congress, who flip-flopped on masks, lockdowns, and vaccines—was treated like a saint. Time Magazine’s “Guardian of the Year.”

All while Pfizer—a company with a $2.3 billion criminal fine for fraudulent marketing, bribery, and kickbacks—was given blanket immunity from liability and billions in taxpayer dollars to produce a vaccine in record time with no long-term safety data.

Were we the dangerous ones?

No.

We were the truthful ones. And that made us the enemy.

The Weaponized Institutions: From Epstein’s Blackmail to Your Digital ID

Epstein’s operation was never just about blackmail for perversion; it was blackmail for control. The files show his cozy ties to intelligence agencies (Mossad, CIA), financial giants like JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank, and political leaders across the globe.

This is the same cabal now pushing:

  • The Great Reset

  • Digital IDs

  • Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs)

  • 15-minute cities

  • Carbon credit social scoring

  • Vaccine passports

Let’s connect the dots they desperately don’t want you to see:

Financial Control:

JPMorgan banked Epstein for years despite clear red flags—over $1 billion in suspicious transactions flagged internally and ignored. They knew. They didn’t care. They paid a $290 million fine and moved on.

Now, banks like Bank of America, Chase, and PayPal de-bank conservatives, truckers, health freedom advocates, and anyone who questions the narrative. Canadian truckers. Gun shops. Crypto entrepreneurs. The goal is the same: punish dissent and control economic life.

CBDCs are the endgame—a digital leash on every citizen. Programmable money that can be turned off, restricted, or expired. Social credit by another name.

Medical Tyranny:

The FDA, CDC, and WHO—utterly captured by Big Pharma—lied about:

  • COVID origins (Wuhan lab leak dismissed as conspiracy theory)

  • Vaccine efficacy (”95% effective” turned into “you need boosters forever”)

  • Natural immunity (ignored despite being superior)

  • Early treatments (ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D censored and mocked)

They attacked natural health advocates just as they’ve done for decades with cancer cures, detox protocols, and anything that threatens Big Pharma profits. They are not health agencies; they are profit-enforcement arms dressed in lab coats.

Political Corruption:

Epstein’s blackmail ensured elite immunity. His client list includes presidents, princes, CEOs, scientists, and media moguls.

Meanwhile, true dissidents—Julian Assange (tortured in prison for journalism), Edward Snowden (exiled for exposing mass surveillance), and journalists like us—face persecution, imprisonment, debanking, slanderous hit pieces, and/or constant character assassination.

Two systems of justice: one for them, one for you. One for Epstein’s friends, one for truth-tellers.

The Way Forward: They’re Exposed. Now It’s Time to Build.

The Epstein files are more than proof; they are a declaration that the system is rotten to its core. But here’s the beautiful part: they vindicate us completely.

Every warning. Every documentary. Every article. Every post that got us banned. All of it was true.

The globalists’ grip is weakening. The truth—the real, ugly, documented truth—is erupting from the very files they tried to hide. They labeled us liars, but the emails show they were the architects. They silenced us, they censored us, but that only made our voices more necessary.

Epstein did not kill himself. COVID-19 was not natural. The vaccines were not safe or effective. The censorship was not about protecting you—it was about protecting them.

And now? Now it’s time to use this vindication as fuel. Not for revenge, but for revolution. A revolution of truth, health, freedom, and justice.

They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.

The Epstein files are a smoking gun. A paper trail. A confession written in emails, financial structures, and offshore accounts.

They prove what we’ve been saying all along:

  • The system is rigged.

  • The elites are criminals.

  • The pandemic was planned.

  • The censorship was coordinated.

And we were right. 👍

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💳Citi’s Strategy to Dominate Institutional Payments💳

Citi's Institutional Payments Strategy

Citi’s Strategy to Dominate Institutional Payments is built on a foundation of technological innovation, strategic simplification, and a laser focus on institutional clients. The bank has transitioned from a fragmented global retail bank to a streamlined provider of high-margin institutional services, with its Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) and Securities Services segments now considered its "crown jewel." This shift, led by CEO Jane Fraser, involved exiting 14 international consumer markets and slashing decades of "tech debt" through a multi-billion-dollar partnership with **Google Cloud**, creating a modern, unified data and cloud infrastructure.

At the core of Citi’s dominance in institutional payments is Citi Token Services, a blockchain-powered platform launched in September 2023. This service converts client deposits into digital tokens, enabling 24/7, real-time cross-border payments, automated trade finance, and just-in-time liquidity management. By using private blockchain technology managed entirely by Citi, clients avoid the need to host their own nodes. The solution has been successfully piloted with Maersk and a canal authority, demonstrating how smart contracts can reduce transaction times from days to minutes—mirroring the functions of traditional bank guarantees and letters of credit.

Citi is further strengthening its position through strategic partnerships, such as its collaboration with Coinbase to expand digital asset payment solutions for institutional clients, enabling seamless fiat-to-crypto transitions. The bank is also leveraging generative AI to automate regulatory compliance, improve cash forecasting by 50%, and reduce operational case times by 90%, directly enhancing the efficiency and reliability of its payment services.

With a global network spanning 95 countries and a focus on real-time, transparent, and programmable financial services, Citi is redefining the institutional payments landscape. Its strategy—centered on infrastructure modernization, digital asset innovation, and client-centric automation—positions it to capture market share from both traditional banks and fintechs, particularly as cross-border instant payments become the norm by 2028.

As blockchain infrastructure inches closer to the core of global finance, a consequential debate is taking shape inside banks and among institutional investors.

What form of digital money will ultimately dominate on-chain settlement?

Stablecoins have so far captured the spotlight, buoyed by rapid adoption and growing regulatory attention. But a different shift is underway inside the banking sector, where executives are increasingly confident that tokenized bank deposits, and not privately issued stablecoins, could become the preferred on-chain dollar for institutional and wholesale use.

“We don’t start with the asset,” Biswarup Chatterjee, global head of partnerships and innovation, Citi Services at Citi, told PYMNTS. “We typically start with our client need, and then we look at the pros and cons of each type of asset or financing instrument.”

For institutional money, innovation can often begin with constraint.

“When you’re dealing with money as a financial institution, you’re acting in a fiduciary capacity,” Chatterjee said, framing why safety and soundness dominate early conversations with clients.

From that perspective, the critical questions around new digital instruments are regulatory and operational before they are technological. Are these assets well-regulated? Do they operate within clearly defined legal frameworks? Can they be governed with the same rigor as traditional deposits or securities?

For institutions that manage systemic liquidity, and their clients, those questions are becoming non-negotiable. Within that context, tokenized deposits are what is emerging as a natural evolution of existing bank money.

“Within the bank’s network, tokenized deposits are an efficient way for our clients to be able to get that 24/7, always-on availability,” Chatterjee said.

The Race to Define the On-Chain Dollar for Institutional Use

By anchoring decisions in client economics and workflows, banks are positioning themselves less as promoters of specific technologies and more as integrators tasked with assembling the right mix of tools for each use case. Institutional clients are not simply looking for digital replicas of existing money; they are grappling with the friction of moving funds across use cases and jurisdictions.

“There’s this constant need to transform money across its various forms and shapes,” Chatterjee said, adding that payments, working capital and financing increasingly overlap, and inefficiencies emerge when money cannot move fluidly between those roles.

By representing deposits on distributed ledgers, banks can offer real-time movement of money across accounts, entities and geographies without leaving the regulated perimeter. For enterprises and institutions, this promises faster settlement, improved liquidity management and reduced operational friction, all without introducing new balance sheet or counterparty risks.

In this sense, tokenized deposits may turn out to be less disruptive than they appear. They modernize the plumbing of banking rather than bypassing it, extending familiar money into programmable environments.

Regulation, Interoperability and the Velocity of Money

The moment money exits a bank’s direct network, however, the strengths of tokenized deposits begin to fade. Cross-border payments, underbanked regions and counterparties outside major financial institutions can expose gaps in reach and efficiency when it comes to tokenized deposits.

This is where Chatterjee said he sees a role for stablecoins, not as competitors to banks, but as connective tissue.

“When money leaves the bank’s network and goes out into the external ecosystem, that’s where we see the role of stablecoins coming in,” he said, assuming they operate in a “very safe and sound and regulated manner.”

The result is likely to represent not a binary choice but a continuum. Just as checks, wires, cash and instant payments coexist today, digital money is likely to fragment into specialized forms optimized for different environments.

At the heart of the impact financial blockchain is having on digital money’s evolution lies a deceptively simple question: What makes money “good”?

For Chatterjee, the answer hinges on universal acceptance and trust.

“What makes a currency strong … has a lot to do with universal acceptance,” he said.

Assets that cannot be readily transferred or accepted risk becoming stranded, unable to circulate productively; while trust is fundamental to the value and stability of money, no matter its form. That logic applies equally to tokenized deposits and stablecoins. Without trust and transferability, neither is likely to function as a true institutional settlement asset.

Despite the focus on tokens and technology, Chatterjee was clear about where long-term value resides. It is not in the token itself, but in service.

“Client service and the client experience is what is going to drive the winning proposition,” he said.

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New Allegations Link Former National Intelligence Leaders Clapper and O’Sullivan to UFO Shoot-Down and Retrieval Program

Written by Christopher Sharp - 24 January 2026

Multiple sources have told Liberation Times that, during the Obama administration, senior intelligence figures James Clapper and Stephanie O’Sullivan oversaw a program relating to Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. 

The sources allege the effort involved the shootdown and recovery of exotic vehicles thought to be of non-human origin.

Three separate sources told Liberation Times that Clapper allegedly ran the program alongside O’Sullivan, dating back to his tenure as Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence from 2007 to 2010

During that period, O’Sullivan led the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology before being promoted in 2009 to become the agency’s third-most senior officer.

One source alleged to Liberation Times that Clapper and O’Sullivan oversaw a program codenamed ‘Golden Domes,’ which the source claimed was jointly run by the CIA and the United States Air Force (USAF), where Clapper previously served.

The source further alleged that the program could detect and track UAP even when ‘cloaked’ and as they physically manifested.

The same source claimed the program employed a mix of electronic and laser-based capabilities intended to bring down what the source described as ‘exotic non-human vehicles.’

Sources were unable to offer Liberation Times a clear explanation for why the U.S. government would choose to engage UAP, including whether any such actions were taken routinely, in specific circumstances, or in relation to any potential understandings or rules of engagement involving other purported non-human factions.

In the recently released documentary ‘The Age of Disclosure’, James Clapper alleged that a secretive USAF program had been actively monitoring UAP, particularly over the highly classified Area 51 facility in Nevada - an epicentre of cutting-edge military development and testing.

Clapper, a former Chief of USAF Intelligence, stated:

“When I served in the Air Force, there was an active program to track anomalous activities that we couldn’t otherwise explain - many of them connected with ranges out west, notably Area 51.”

In a recent interview with journalist Megyn Kelly, former intelligence official, USAF veteran, and UAP whistleblower David Grusch claimed that James Clapper managed a UAP program, stating:

“I'm a little bit disappointed as a fellow Air Force officer…. That's all he said in the documentary: that there was a program he was aware of. 

 

“In fact, without being inappropriate, I will say that General Clapper was well aware of the crash retrieval issue, managed the crash retrieval issue, and, when he was a DNI [Director of National Intelligence], USDI [Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security], DIA [Defense Intelligence Agency], he placed people in critical roles to manage this issue, both publicly - and I'll just say not publicly as well - and I'll allow the audience to distill what I'm saying at the, at the risk of being inappropriate or going too far with my discussion. 

 

“So General Clapper, Stephanie O’Sullivan, other folks in the IC [Intelligence Community] that are well aware of this issue, that were in rooms discussing this issue, I ask you to be greater leaders on this. I should not be the only former military officer and intelligence official that is being completely candid with the information that they were exposed to.”

Grusch’s lawyer, Charles McCullough III served as the Intelligence Community Inspector General, reporting directly to then–Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.

In that role, according to his biography, McCullough ‘oversaw intelligence officers responsible for audits, inspections, and investigations. Furthermore, he was responsible for inquiries involving the Office of the Director of National Intelligence as well as the entire Intelligence Community.’

                            Above: Charles McCullough, III and James Clapper

Grusch, in that same interview, also alleged that former Vice President Dick Cheney, who has since died, was the “closest person” to a “mob boss,” exerting “central leadership” over UAP-related activities.

Notably, Dick Cheney’s wife, Lynne Cheney, served on Lockheed Corporation’s board of directors from 1994 to 2001.

Against that backdrop, in written testimony to Congress, Lue Elizondo, the former director of the Pentagon’s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, claimed that Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland was among the sites prepared in connection with an alleged transfer of UAP materials to Bigelow Aerospace from Lockheed Martin - an organisation long accused of involvement in an alleged UAP reverse-engineering program.

In a 2013 Fox News interview, Dick Cheney said he first met James Clapper around 25 years earlier, when Clapper was serving as a USAF intelligence officer in Korea.

James Clapper served as the fourth Director of National Intelligence under President Obama from August 2010 to January 2017. Before that, he was Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence from 2007 to 2010 under President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

Clapper also previously served as Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency

In his book Facts and Fears, he recounts how he was assigned as the USAF senior resident officer at the National Security Agency (NSA) to represent Air Force interests. In February 1980, then-NSA Director Vice Admiral Bobby Inman presided over Clapper’s promotion to colonel, as he assumed responsibility for all Air Force personnel stationed at the NSA.

Clapper writes in his book that he served as an intermediary for Vice Admiral Bobby Inman, whom he describes as “an icon and a legend” and who has also been alleged to be a UAP gatekeeper.

Inman was clearly aware of the link between O’Sullivan’s former office and UAP-related matters. In a now-public phone call with NASA engineer Bob Oechsler, Inman said that Everett Hineman, then Deputy Director of the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology, would be “the best person” to ask whether any recovered UAP vehicles might be made available for technological research outside military channels.

Notably, former NSA administrator Mike Rogers has recalled in an interview that, while serving as Director of National Intelligence, Clapper unexpectedly ordered him and his team to review the NSA’s files and provide everything relating to UFOs.

Upon being nominated as Director of National Intelligence by President Obama in 2010, Clapper was described as having developed close ties to the intelligence community during his long career and is particularly close to senior managers at the CIA.

In 2011, Clapper recommended that President Obama nominate Stephanie O’Sullivan as Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence (PDDNI). 

Before her nomination, O’Sullivan served as the CIA’s Associate Deputy Director from December 2009 to February 2011, working alongside the Director and Deputy Director to provide overall leadership of the agency, with a particular focus on day-to-day management. 

                                                Above: Stephanie O’Sullivan

Before that, she served as the CIA’s Deputy Director of Science and Technology for 4 years. According to Liberation Times sources, the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology has and continues to be involved in coordinating UAP retrieval missions and safeguarding technologies derived from UAP-related research carried out by the Department of War (DoW) and its contractors.

Based on the best available open source information, previous Deputy Directors of the CIA’s Directorate of Science and Technology include:

  • Albert Wheelon 1963-1966

  • Carl Duckett 1966-1967

  • Leslie Dirks 1967-1982

  • R. Evan Hineman 1982-1989

  • James Hirsch 1989-1995

  • Ruth David 1995-1998

  • Gary Smith 1999-1999

  • Joanne Isham 1999-2001

  • Donald Kerr 2001-2005

  • Stephanie O’Sullivan 2005-2009

  • Glenn Gaffney 2009-2015

  • Dawn Meyerriecks 2015-2021

  • Todd Lowery 2021-present

In his book, ‘Facts and Fears’, Clapper writes that he knew O’Sullivan by reputation as a brilliant technical engineer, and that then-CIA Director Leon Panetta put her forward to him as his deputy - someone who could help cover his blind spots when CIA-related issues arose

Clapper describes the day of O’Sullivan’s confirmation to PDDNI - a title O’Sullivan jokingly referred to as ‘P-Diddy’ - as ‘an extremely happy one’. Their working relationship within the ODNI was extremely close, and Clapper has written that he learned to adopt the line “Stephanie speaks for me, even when we haven’t spoken.”

O’Sullivan entered the intelligence world after responding to a cryptic newspaper classified advert seeking an “ocean engineer”. That move led her to TRW, the defense contractor absorbed into Northrop Grumman, and later the Office of Naval Intelligence. Liberation Times sources allege that Northrop Grumman’s Tejon Ranch Radar Cross Section Facility in southern California is a site where UAPs are routinely retrieved.

Since her retirement from government in 2017, O’Sullivan now serves as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Aerospace Corporation and is on the Board of Directors of Battelle Memorial Institute. 

Battelle and The Aerospace Corporation have both been referenced publicly in connection with UAP programs

Sources also note that O’Sullivan sits on the board of HRL Laboratories, formerly Hughes Research Laboratories, part of the wider Hughes corporate legacy that is closely associated with the Hughes Glomar Explorer, the vessel later linked to the CIA’s effort to recover a sunken Soviet submarine.

Sources told Liberation Times that Stephanie O’Sullivan has been questioned by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence about her alleged role in a UAP program

The sources further allege that she misled committee members, including then Senator Marco Rubio, now Secretary of State, by nervously claiming that she had no involvement.

Allegations of kinetic engagement have surfaced in other contexts. 

In written testimony submitted to Congress, journalist George Knapp relayed what he said he was told by figures linked to a former Russian Ministry of Defense UAP program: that Russian fighter aircraft were dispatched to intercept UAP on numerous occasions and, in a small number of cases, were ordered to fire. 

Knapp wrote that after several alleged incidents in which aircraft subsequently crashed, a standing order was issued instructing pilots to disengage and ‘leave the UFOs alone because, quote, “they could have incredible capacities for retaliation.”’ 

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