Tether to reduce secured loans to zero in 2023 amid battle against FUD

The move comes in response to a wave of mainstream media attacks and FUD, primarily from the Wall Street Journal.

The world’s largest stablecoin issuer, Tether, has pledged to eventually stop the practice of lending out funds from its reserves, saying it is “mission critical to restore faith" in the crypto market. 

In a Dec. 13 post, the stablecoin issuer addressed recent mainstream media FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) concerning its secured loans, among other FUD that h hit the "rumor mill."

Tether reiterated that its secured loans are over-collateralized and covered by “extremely liquid assets,” while also adding that the firm would be eliminating these loans throughout 2023, stating:

Tether is announcing starting from now, throughout 2023, it will reduce secured loans in Tether’s reserves to zero.

Tether’s secured loans operate similarly to private banks lending to customers using secured collateral, the company explained. However, unlike banks that operate on fractional reserves, Tether claimed that its loans are over 100% backed.

The move is likely in response to a Wall Street Journal report earlier this month alleging these loans were risky, claiming that the “company may not have enough liquid assets to pay redemptions in a crisis.”

#Tether Addresses FUD Around Secured Loans, Reveals Plans to Reduce These to Zero in 2023https://t.co/nZcPr8RiF1

— Tether (@Tether_to) December 13, 2022

It is not the first time that the WSJ has targeted Tether. In August the outlet said that Tether could be deemed “technically insolvent” if its assets fell just 0.3%. The stablecoin issuer refuted the claims at the time, stating that it had increased the legitimacy and transparency of its attestations by hiring a top-5 accounting firm.

According to those attestations, 82% of Tether reserves are held in "extremely liquid" assets.

In October, Tether responded to more media FUD by further eliminating commercial paper from its reserves and replacing the investments with U.S. Treasury bills.

Related: Crypto Biz: You can’t stop the Tether FUD

In its most recent statement, the company stated that it will wind down its lending business without losses and continue its mission to prioritize transparency and accountability.

“We will continue to show Tether’s resilience through the most uncertain times, regardless of the story fabrications and disinformation concocted by Tether Truthers and clickbait headlines from mainstream media that have been consistently wrong about Tether, for close to a decade.”

Tether is currently the leading stablecoin issuer, with 65.8 billion USDT circulating. It has a market share of 46.6%, according to CoinGecko.