Tether did back USDT with Chinese securities, documents show: Bloomberg

Stablecoin issuer Tether did partially back its stablecoin with Chinese securities for a period of time, despite refusing to admit so at the time.

Tether held securities issued by companies including China Construction Bank Corp. and Agricultural Bank of China Ltd, documents released by the New York Attorney General show, according to Bloomberg.

For a while, there were a lot of rumors that Tether had backed its stablecoin with Chinese securities. While Tether remained silent on the issue, it denied in September 2021 that it held commercial paper issued by troubled Chinese real estate giant Evergrande.

In July, Tether said that, by that point in time, it didn't hold any Chinese commercial paper — while refusing to acknowledge whether it had done so in the past.

At the time it criticized "naysayers who continue to spread falsities about its commercial paper holdings" and said they were wrong.

The documents were released due to a freedom of information request. They are part of the data gathered by the NYAG in its investigation of Tether, which resulted in a 2021 settlement and an $18.5 million fine.

Tether has since removed all commercial paper from the backing of USDT, the company claims.