Tether Addresses Alleged Singapore TOS Change, Dismisses Cake DeFi CEO's Claim As FUD

Tether, the company behind the fiat-collateralized stablecoin of the same name, has responded to reports suggesting changes in its terms of service (TOS) in Singapore. The company's Chief Technology Officer (CTO) dismissed the latest claim, which originated from a tweet by the CEO of a decentralized finance protocol called Cake DeFi, as "FUD."

On Monday, Julian Hosp, the CEO of Cake DeFi, shared a screenshot of an email from Tether's compliance department on X (formerly Twitter). The email stated that certain customer bases were prohibited from redeeming the stablecoin due to changes in the company's terms of service.

"Ok, so, I won't be able to tell you if redeeming $USDT into $USD is actually possible, due to being in Singapore, which was a recent change to the @Tether_to ToS from one day to another. Interesting," Hosp's tweet read.

"Tether has changed its terms of service to, among other things, restrict its onboarding standards. Corporates controlled by; another entities, directors, shareholders residing in Singapore are no longer permitted to be Tether customers," the screenshot of the email shared by Hosp read, adding: "Our information is that you are controlled by another corporation that resides in Singapore. Accordingly, your account verification will be restricted; you will not be permitted to be issued or redeem from the platform."

The email indicated that Cake DeFi fell under the category of "controlled by another corporation in Singapore," which meant it could no longer issue or redeem Tether (USDT) through the platform.

However, it seems that Hosp's claim was based on a policy change that had been in effect since 2020, as noted by Tether CTO Paolo Ardoino.

In a tweet, Ardoino refuted the speculations surrounding the email screenshot circulating online and labeled it as FUD.

"Before spreading FUD, it would be great if you guys took a look at web archives... This is from January 2022... And if you open the link below: Last updated: May 12, 2020... Again, take a moment to search and verify information before YOLO posting," he told Crypto Twitter.

"Singapore has a new regime for stablecoins so they could not onboard them, Tether has a meticulous onboarding process which is in full compliance with global regulations, including the guidelines set forth by Singapore regulators," Tether said in a statement sent to International Business Times.

"This commitment to compliance is unwavering and remains a cornerstone of our platform. It's worth noting that our Terms and Conditions (TOC) related to Singapore entities have remained unchanged since May 2020," the company further explained.