Crypto Titan Clash: Tether CEO Claps Back After Ripple Chief Says US Targeting USDT

The CEO of stablecoin giant Tether was triggered by another crypto executive's suggestion that the U.S. government is targeting the stablecoin issuer's USDT token amid recent scrutiny over billions worth of USDT that flowed through a sanctioned Russia-based crypto exchange.

Paolo Ardoino posted a lengthy update about how safe the Tether ecosystem is after Brad Garlinghouse, the CEO of payment and cryptocurrency solutions titan Ripple, said at a Thursday podcast that he sees Tether "as a very important part of the [crypto] ecosystem." However, Garlinghouse also said something else that appears to have riled up Ardoino.

"The U.S. government is going after Tether. That is clear to me," Garlinghouse said.

Ardoino posted on X (formerly Twitter) Monday, without mentioning the Ripple chief. "An uni[n]formed CEO, leading a company being investigated by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), launching a competitive stablecoin (cui prodest), is being reported spreading fear about USDT," the Tether leader wrote.

It is worth noting that Ripple announced earlier last month it will launch a dollar-pegged stablecoin that will be 100% backed by U.S. dollar deposits – a likely rival to the stablecoin's top player, Tether's USDT.

In his seeming response to Garlinghouse's comments about Tether, Ardoino reiterated that the "real facts show how Tether USDT, leveraging the transparency of the blockchain technology and working with global law enforcement is able to comply with requirements."

The Tether executive went on to note that the company has employed highly-trained internal investigators who use a variety of tools to monitor both the core platform and secondary markets such as exchanges and blockchains. He also highlighted the recently announced partnership with blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis that should provide the stablecoin behemoth with clearer oversight of secondary transactions around the USDT.

Ardoino also underscored the many collaborative efforts Tether has undertaken alongside law enforcement, including the crypto company's work with agencies across more than 40 countries worldwide. He said the platform has frozen "more than $1.3 billion since inception, mostly related to scams, hacks, ML (money laundering)" – some $1.6 million of which were related to terrorist financing.

Late in March, Tether was under fire after a report revealed that strategic allies the U.S. and United Kingdom launched a probe into more than $20 billion worth of USDT that passed through Russia-based crypto exchange Garantex, a sanctioned crypto firm. At the time, sources said investigations were still in the early phases, making conclusions about Tether's potential wrongdoing too early.