TheDinarian
News • Business • Investing & Finance
💥Tether Papers: This is exactly who acquired 70% of all USDT ever issued💥
November 10, 2022
post photo preview

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.

Link

community logo
Join the TheDinarian Community
To read more articles like this, sign up and join my community today
0
What else you may like…
Videos
Podcasts
Posts
Articles
🚨NEW: Watch @BoHines sit down with @CryptoAmerica_

Watch @BoHines sit down with @CryptoAmerica_ to discuss key details of the White House crypto report including anticipated new DOJ guidance, as well as fresh commentary on the @rstormsf trial, and the nomination of @BrianQuintenz to lead the @CFTC.

00:28:43
Why Invest In XRP?

Because Ripple Is EVERYWHERE!

This is on Wall Street... NY

00:00:06
👉"You're gonna be told that there is a craft on its way to Earth.

"That 100 fxxxing percent is the lie you are going to be told."

Jeremy Corbell in January 2025

00:02:38
👉 Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading

Custom AI assistants that print money in your sleep? 🔜

The future of Crypto x AI is about to go crazy.

👉 Here’s what you need to know:

💠 'Based Agent' enables creation of custom AI agents
💠 Users set up personalized agents in < 3 minutes
💠 Equipped w/ crypto wallet and on-chain functions
💠 Capable of completing trades, swaps, and staking
💠 Integrates with Coinbase’s SDK, OpenAI, & Replit

👉 What this means for the future of Crypto:

1. Open Access: Democratized access to advanced trading
2. Automated Txns: Complex trades + streamlined on-chain activity
3. AI Dominance: Est ~80% of crypto 👉txns done by AI agents by 2025

🚨 I personally wouldn't bet against Brian Armstrong and Jesse Pollak.

👉 Coinbase just launched an AI agent for Crypto Trading

Big news: @Nasdaq Chair and Chief Executive Officer, @adenatfriedman, is joining us in NYC as a keynote speaker at Ripple Swell 2025.🚨

She’ll explore:

⭐️ The future of the financial system
⭐️ The potential of digital assets and blockchain
⭐️ The evolving role of tokenization and emerging technologies

Don’t miss it!

https://x.com/Ripple/status/1950640088469176761

Trump Administration = Favorable for UTILITY DRIVEN CRYPTO INITIATIVES.✅

XRP = A functional Utility Cryptocurrency ✅

Clear?😶‍🌫️

OP Smqkedqg

There will be a LOT of spam, scam, uncertainty and crime surrounding the Midnight airdrop (@midnightfdn).

There is currently no action required.

While @XamanWallet is self custodial and technically no one needs us to participate, we will digest information about the airdrop as it becomes available, and make sure to make it as easy as possible for
@XamanWallet users to participate in the airdrop.

We will communicate about this in-app, through an xApp to prevent confusion and scammers taking advantage of the uncertainty on social media.

When users can take action to participate, we will inform our users though in-app communication.

Trust NO SOCIAL MEDIA.
Trust NO WEBSITE.
Trust NO DM-MESSAGES.
Trust NO (potentially fake) XRPL Labs / Xaman staff on social.

Trust only our in app support xApp, and the in app Midnight Airdrop information we will communicate once more information is made available by the Midnight/Glacier/... team.

https://x.com/WietseWind/status/1950548314392326354

post photo preview
PYTH: We'll Always Have Coldplay

Welcome back to The Epicenter, where crypto chaos meets corporate cringe.

But surprisingly, crypto has not been the most chaotic corner of the internet as of late.

That honor goes to the startup Astronomer, whose CEO’s cheating scandal broke the web in a glorious meme-fueled media frenzy. The company’s damage control? Hiring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson.” Do we think they’re grasping at straws or setting a new standard for PR?

Meanwhile, the markets didn’t blink. BTC is still flexing near its all-time highs. Michael Saylor’s bringing a bitcoin-adjacent money-market product to Wall Street. A pharma company just earmarked $700M to stack BNB, and analysts are calling time of death on the four-year crypto cycle. It’s a steady boom now, kittens.

A few things that are also worth noting: Winklevoss vs. JPMorgan, Visa’s take on stablecoins, and Robinhood’s Euro drama that defies the chillness of eurosummer.

Let’s get into it 👇

⛓️ The On-Chain Pulse: What’s Happening on the Front Lines of Finance

This week’s biggest news in crypto and all things digital assets

🗣️ Word on the Street: What the Experts are Saying

Stuff you should repost (or maybe even cough reword and take credit for)

Meme of the Week

🏦 Kiss my SaaS: What’s Changing the Game for Fintech

Things you should care about if you want to impress your coworkers

Closing Thoughts

From meme-fueled PR stunts to Bitcoin-backed money-market funds, this week reminded us that markets move fast—and headlines move faster. With Wall Street automating itself, fintechs beefing with banks, and even your smartphone becoming a miner, anything is possible. Stay curious, stay cynical, and as always—stay sharp and stay liquid. We’ll see you back here in two weeks.

— The Epicenter, powered by Pyth Network

 

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal: 
1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) or visit https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

🔗 Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

 

Read full Article
post photo preview
4 Fintech Companies 💸& Things To Know About 🤔

The fintech revolution is reshaping the way we manage, invest, and move money, breaking down traditional barriers and empowering individuals worldwide. As financial technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, a select group of innovative companies are leading the charge by offering groundbreaking solutions that redefine banking, payments, and digital assets. Whether you’re a savvy investor, an industry professional, or simply curious about the future of finance, discovering these trailblazing fintech companies is essential to understanding today’s dynamic financial landscape.

 

  1.  Alina Invest - The AI Wealth Manager for GenZ Women

Alina is aimed at women under 25 who identify as beginner investors. They're an SEC-registered investment advisor that charges $120/year for membership. The service "buys and sells for you" and gives up notification updates of recent transactions like a wealth manager would.

👉 Getting people to invest early is crucial to building long-term wealth. One thing that holds them back is a lack of confidence and experience. Being targetted "for beginners" and people who live on TikTok should appeal. I love the sense of "we're buying and selling for you." Funds always do that, but making it an engagement mechanic is very smart. The risk here is that building a wealth business will take decades for the AUM to compound. But the next generations, Wealthfront or Betterment, will look something like Alina.

2. Blue layer - The Carbon project funding platform

Bluelayer allows Carbon project developers to take from feasibility studies to issuing credits, tracking inventory, and managing orders. Developers of reforestation, conservation, direct air capture, and other projects can also directly report to industry registries. 

👉 Carbon investing and tax credits are heavily incentivized but need transparent data. By focusing on the developers, Bluelayer can ensure the data, reporting, and credits lifecycle is all managed at the source. This is smart.

3. Akirolabs - Modern Procurement for enterprise

Akiro is a "strategic" procurement platform aiming to help enterprise customers identify risks, value drivers, and strategic levers before issuing an RFP. It aims to bring in multiple stakeholders for complex purchasing decisions at multinationals. 

👉 Procurement is a great wedge for multinational corporate transformation. Buying anything in an enterprise that uses large-scale ERPs is a nightmare of committees and spreadsheets. Turning an oil tanker-sized organization around is difficult, but the right suppliers can have a meaningful impact in the short term. That only works if you can buy from them. Getting people on the same page with a single platform is a great start.

4. NeoTax - Automated Tax R&D Credits

NeoTax allows companies to connect their engineering tools to calculate available tax advantages automatically. Once calculated, the tax fillings are clearly labeled with supporting evidence for the IRS.

👉 AWS and GCP log files and data are a goldmine. Last week, I covered Bilanc, which uses log files to figure out per-account unit economics. Now, we calculate R&D tax credits. The unlock here is LLM's ability to understand unstructured data. The hard part is understanding the moat, but time will tell.

In an era where technology and finance are increasingly intertwined, these four fintech companies stand out as catalysts for positive change. By driving progress in digital payments, asset management, lending, and decentralized finance, they are not only making financial services more accessible and efficient—they are also paving the way for a more inclusive and empowered global economy. Staying informed about their innovations can help you seize new opportunities and take part in the future of finance.

 

👀Things to know 👀

 

PayPal issued low guidance and warned of a “transition year.” The stock is down 8% in extended trading despite PayPal reporting a 9% growth in revenue and 23% EBITDA. Gross profit is down 4% YoY. PayPal's total revenues were $29Bn for the year

Adyen reported 22% revenue growth and an EBITDA margin of 46% for the full year. Adyen's total revenues were $1.75bn for the full year. The margin was down from 55% the previous year, impacted by hiring ahead of growth.

🤔 PayPal’s Braintree (unbranded) is losing market share in the US, while Adyen is winning it. eCommerce is growing ~9 to 10% YoY, and PayPal’s transaction revenue grew by 6.7%. The higher interest rate environment meant interest on balances dragged up the total revenue figure. Their core business is losing market share. Adyen is outgrowing the market by ~12%.

🤔 The PayPal button (branded) is losing to SHOP Pay and Apple Pay. The branded experience from Apple and Shopify is delightful for users; it’s fast and helps with small details like delivery tracking. That experience translates to higher conversion (and more revenue) for merchants.

🤔 The lack of a single global platform hurts PayPal, but it helps Adyen. In the earnings call, the new CEO admitted their mix of platforms like Venmo, PayPal, and Braintree are holding them back. They aim to combine and simplify, but that’s easier said than done.

🤔 Making a single platform from PayPal, Venmo, and Braintree won’t be easy. There’s a graveyard of payment company CEOs who tried to make “one platform” from things they acquired years ago. It’s crucial if they’re going to grow that they get their innovation edge back. Adyen has one platform in every market.

🤔 PayPal’s UK and European acquiring business is a bright spot. The UK and EU delivered 20% of overall revenue, growing 11% YoY. Square and Toast don’t have market share here, while iZettle, which PayPal acquired in 2018, is a strong market player. Overall though, it’s yet another tech stack and business that’s not part of a single global platform.

The two banks provided accounts to UK front companies secretly owned by an Iranian petrochemicals company. PCC has used these entities to receive funds from Iranian entities in China, concealed with trustee agreements and nominee directors. 

🤔 This is the headline every bank CEO fears. Oof. Shares of both banks have been down since the news broke, but this will no doubt involve crisis calls, committees, appearing in front of the regulator, and, finally, some sort of fine.

🤔 The "risk-based approach" has been arbitraged. A UK company with relatively low annual revenue would look "low risk" at onboarding. One business the FT covered looked like a small company at a residential address to compliance staff. They'd likely apply branch-level controls instead of the enterprise-grade controls you'd see for a large corporation. 

🤔 Hiring more staff won't fix this problem; it's a mindset and technology challenge. In theory, all of the skill and technology that exists to manage risks with large corporate customers (in the transaction banking divisions) are available to the other parts of a bank. In practice, they're not. Most banks lack a single data set and the ability for compliance officers in one team to see data from another part of the org. Getting the basics right with data and tooling is incredibly hard and will involve a multi-year effort. 

🤔 These things are rarely the failure of an individual or department; the issue is systemic. While two banks are named in this headline, the issue is everywhere. Banks need more data and better data to train better AI and machine learning. That all needs to happen in real-time as a compliment to the human staff. Throwing bodies at this won't solve the visibility issue teams have.

 🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal: 

1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) or visit https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

🔗 Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 Crypto Michael ⚡  The Dinarian

 

Read full Article
post photo preview
What is XAH and Xahau?

If you're new to XRP, you may have noticed some of us discussing another network named 'Xahau'.

It's Like XRP ... But Different

The Xahau network was created in 2023, and its starting point was the open-source code for the XRP Ledger. A small team of researchers and entrepreneurs decided to add smart contracts to the network code.


The XRP Ledger has no smart contract capabilities, by default.

To integrate smart contracts, the team decided to use an architecture that includes 'WASM' or 'web assembly' code. Each account can have up to 10 'hooks' installed that are triggered for transactions that match specific criteria. They can run before or after a transaction is processed. This enables a variety of use cases that do not involve the need to change the network's core code.

Hooks

A 'hook' is what is known as a smart contract that can be triggered in relation to a specific account and its transactions.

The term arises from the programming world, where it generally means "code that runs based on triggering conditions." In Xahau's case, it indicates code that is run before, or after, a transaction is processed.
 
Each hook must be installed on a specific account by the party that controls the account - i.e., the secret key holder.
 
What Can XAH Do That XRP Cannot?
 
The primary benefit from the use of hooks, is that the core network code does not need to be changed every time a new use case is identified. This means that additional use cases can be addressed immediately, with no requirement for intervening steps, such as:
  • Community review
  • Community approval
  • Amendment voting
All of those steps are eliminated with the use of hooks; new use cases can be addressed as fast as the code can be developed.
 
To read more about how hooks enables Xahau to handle more use cases than even the XRPL, you can read this article:
 
Key Differences From XRP
 
Other unique differences from the XRP Ledger include:
  • Much smaller supply ~612 million coins vs. 100 billion coins
  • XAH hodlers are rewarded at 4% of their account balance. There are no rewards for XRP.
  • Governance participants are incentivized
  • Payment channels available for user-created tokens (IOUs)
  • URI tokens instead of NFT tokens
Who's Who of Xahau?
 
The list of those that are either founders, or closely associated with the founding organizations, is extensive. Here are the names of three organizations mentioned in the whitepaper, or their current moniker:
  • Xaman (a.k.a. XRPL Labs)
  • Gatehub
  • InFTF (Inclusive Financial Technology Foundation)
There exists a long list of impressive developers, architects, and technologists among the Xahau inner circle. But the three names that people associate most prominently with the leadership of the Xahau network are Wietse Wind, Richard Holland, and Denis Angell. The links to their 'X' accounts are:
 
Friend Or Foe?
 
This topic is one of the most contentious.
 
While Ripple, the company with the largest stake of XRP, showed interest in hooks early on, they ultimately decided to advocate for a different approach; the use of an EVM-based solution (Ethereum Virtual Machine) to handle smart contracts on the XRP Ledger. This decision was met with consternation by the Xaman team that had worked with them for several years to advocate for the use of hooks.
 
You can read more about the 'business politics' part of this topic here:
 
So how do Xahau fans view the relationship between XRP and XAH?
 
The Xahau team - and many of its community members - advocate for the use of a 'dual-chain' solution to implement smart contracts. This can be accomplished by the use of 'listener' software, along with native Xahau hooks.
 
A proof of concept, developed by Denis Angell, has demonstrated that bi-lateral communication can work with a simple approach.
 
From an economic standpoint, every chain that has its own digital asset is a competitor; but the simple way to think about Xahau, is that a 'bunch of XRP geeks' decided to implement smart contracts on their own version of the XRP Ledger.
 
The team emphasized transparency along the way, and initially received support from the primary XRP stakeholder, Ripple. They published Xahau as open-source code that could, in theory, be back-engineered and integrated with the XRP Ledger. You can clearly observe the team's idealistic mindset in early marketing mistakes, where they named their digital asset 'XRP Plus' in an effort to emphasize the way that they viewed their creation. While this resulted in confusion - and even suspicion - in its early days, the team quickly pivoted, and named their digital asset 'XAH', which became its ticker symbol.
 
Synergy effects between the two camps speak to a genuine camaraderie, with many Xahau developers being open and willing to help with changes to the core XRP Ledger protocol. You can find many examples of this open dialogue on the 'X' platform.
 
How To Purchase XAH
 
If you wish to speculate by buying XAH directly, it is available in a variety of convenient locations, depending on where you are located. If you're in a country that is supported by Bitrue, you can directly purchase or trade XAH by using that exchange.
 
On January 20th, 2025, Bitmart announced that it supports trading of XAH for customers in their list of supported countries; And in late March, another major exchange announced that they would be supporting XAH trading pairs: Coinex.
 
If you're located in the United States, you can purchase XAH directly from a vendor known as 'C14'. The xApp for C14 is located in the Xaman wallet.
 
XRP Ledger geeks can also purchase XAH IOUs on the XRPL Dex and then convert them to 'real' XAH using a Gatehub bridge. This is available in countries that Gatehub supports.
 
Which XAH Accounts Should I Follow?
 
On the 'X' platform, there exists two major community groups for XAH fans:
In addition to the Xahau notables I've already mentioned in this article, my advice is to take a look at who is posting in the above two communities. There are many impressive leaders and entrepreneurs included. You should be able to find multiple 'X' accounts that reflect your interests.
 
Xahau Development Roadmap
 
Xahau leaders have published a roadmap for 2025 that lists their various goals for the ecosystem:
 
To read a detailed explanation for each item, refer to this: Xahau Roadmap Super Thread
 
One of the most incredible waypoints listed is 'JavaScript Hooks Implementation.' 🤯
JavaScript!
 
With the 'JavaScript Hooks Implementation', Xahau is making history; it will enable anybody that knows JavaScript to easily create and install a smart contract. While networks like Ethereum are impressive early movers, they require developers to learn a new language and syntax.
 
Xahau will soon open 'crypto smart contracts' to a group of developers that number in the tens of millions.
 
Project L-10K
 
Project L-10K is one of the most important items in the pipeline. L-10K refers to the effort to boost the throughput of Xahau consensus to over 10,000 transactions per ledger! This will benefit hosted projects such as Evernode, and future issued assets. Heading up the effort is Richard Holland, who provided a progress update to the community in late May of 2025:
 
To learn more about this ambitious effort, you can watch his full presentation here:
The Future Of Defi And Payments
 
Once you've seen the extensive list of use cases that XAH easily handles, it's truly inspiring. Xahau is everything that you love about XRP, plus a long list of more things to love. ❤️
 
Be an early adopter of XAH and the Xahau network! Join the community groups listed and follow the accounts that seem to reflect your own interest - speculator, developer, or crypto fan. You have a place in our community, no matter what your background or interests are. Welcome to the future of crypto Defi and Payments
 
Sources:
 
 
NOTE: Payment channels for IOUs is currently in amendment status for the XRP Ledger, authored by Denis Angel here:
 
 

🙏 Donations Accepted 🙏

If you find value in my content, consider showing your support via:

💳 PayPal: 

1) Simply scan the QR code below 📲
2) or visit https://www.paypal.me/thedinarian

🔗 Crypto – Support via Coinbase Wallet to: [email protected]

Or Buy me a coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/thedinarian

Your generosity keeps this mission alive, for all! Namasté 🙏 Crypto Michael ⚡ The Dinarian

 
 
Read full Article
See More
Available on mobile and TV devices
google store google store app store app store
google store google store app tv store app tv store amazon store amazon store roku store roku store
Powered by Locals