Alamatea Research And FTX Printed USDT Tether Stablecoin Worth IDR 622 Trillion

Stablecoin USDT Tether. (Photo; Doc. EduCrypto)

JAKARTA The trial related to the bankruptcy case of FTX and its partner company Alameda Research is still ongoing. This attracted public attention, especially with the appearance of the inactive FTX founder Gary Wang and former CEO of Alamed Research Caroline Ellison who testified at the trial.

Conor Grogan, Director of Coinbase, has revealed several suspicious operations involving Alameda Research and FTX related to the creation of USDT stablecoins owned by Tether. On-chain data show that Alameda has played a role in creating USDT worth $39.55 billion, or about 47% of the total supply of USDT currently in circulation. Previously, estimates reached around $36.7 billion (Rp578 trillion), but this figure was updated by Conor by finding additional wallets.

Uncertainties arise with respect to relations and transactions between Alameda and FTX, where they use customer deposits to cover their losses and engage in trading activities. This raises concerns because of Alameda's questionable reputation and because Tether has never undergone an independent audit.

According to data shared by Sam Bankman Fried, founder of FTX, Alameda has printed more USDT than the total assets it manages during the peak of the cryptocurrency market. Conor highlighted that assessing poverty is difficult, especially because of the off-chain coordination used by Tether. Tether does not use deposit addresses as usual; on the other hand, funds are sent directly to the finance department.

Assuming that all USDT exchanges from FTX came from Alameda (and not from other market makers), they exchanged around USD 3.9 billion USDT. Most of this redeemation occurred in two days during May when the market was experiencing turmoil.

Meanwhile, other news revealed that Tether began lending his USDT stablecoins, although they had previously stopped a guaranteed loan offer. Tether again lends old customers to protect them from liquidity shortages or the need to sell assets at unfavorable prices.

Not only that, Tether has also stepped into the world of artificial intelligence (AI) by controlling an undisclosed stake in the Northern Data Group, a German-based crypto miner.

Currently, the total amount of USDT on the exchange has reached its highest level in months, showing the growing interest of crypto traders in this stablecoin. This reflects the growing confidence in cryptocurrencies as an alternative to traditional fiat currencies.