Tether announces a banking relationship with Deltec Bank and confirms reserves

Tether Limited, the company issuing USDT stablecoin, confirmed The Block's earlier reports that it has established a banking relationship with Deltec Bank & Trust Limited headquartered in The Bahamas. Tether said in an official statement that Deltec  Bank only accepted Tether as a client after "their due diligence review of [Tether]" including "an analysis of [Tether's] compliance processes, policies, and procedures; a full background check of the shareholders, ultimate beneficiaries and officers of [Tether]; and assessments of [Tether's] ability to maintain the USD-peg at any moment and [its] treasury management policies." This process supposedly took several months and ultimately ended in the opening of the bank account. Deltec Bank will review Tether on an ongoing basis.

Tether also uploaded a letter from Deltec Bank dated November 1, 2018, which includes an attestation that on October 31, 2018, Tether's portfolio cash value was $1,831,322,828. The letter also discloses that it is "provided without any liability" and "is solely based on the information currently in our possession." Based on the vague wording of the note, it is not clear if this is referring to the balance or the actual letter itself. Tether's last attestation was performed by a law firm Freeh, Sporkin & Sullivan LLP in June.

Update: This post has been edited for clarification