Bitfinex Responded To Latest Lawsuit Against Tether: Report

Bitfinex responded to the latest lawsuit against Tether and dismissed the manipulation lawsuit saying it is based on a conspiracy theory as we are reading further in the Tether news.

Bitfinex responded to the latest amendments in the class-action lawsuit against Bitfinex and Tether calling the entire case ‘’baseless.’’ Stuart Hoegner, the General Counsel for Bitfinex said that the lawsuit is based on an unproven conspiracy theory:

 “The plaintiffs’ allegations remain untethered to either the facts or the law. They conflate perceived correlation with causation in an effort to prop up theories that are untrue and unsupportable.”

Bitfinex and Tether were accused by US citizens of manipulating the price of the number one asset – Bitcoin, back in 2016 and 2017. The plaintiffs alleged that the shared executive management of Tether and Bitfienx colluded to print millions of unbacked USDT which is then used to purchase and to also inflate the Bitcoin price.  The latest amendments to the court filing made on June 4 added two US crypto exchanges to the list of defendants – Poloniex and Bittrex. The amended lawsuit refers to the role of both of the exchanges stating:

 “With the willing assistance of Bittrex, Inc. (“Bittrex”) and Poloniex LLC (“Poloniex”), two other crypto exchanges, Bitfinex and Tether used fraudulently issued USDT to make strategically timed, massive purchases of crypto commodities just when the price of those commodities was falling.”

The Bitfinex announcement stated that the only consistency present in the allegations is the lack of evidence. Bitfinex claims that the plaintiffs named as Matthew Script, Jason Leibowitz, Benjamin Leibowitz, Aaron Leibowitz, and Pinchas Goldshtein, have confused correlation and causation. Hogner explained:

 “If you see a group of people opening umbrellas, that doesn’t mean that they caused it to rain.”

The announcement maintained each issuance of the USDT stablecoin is fully backed on a 1:1 ratio to the US dollar and cites available evidence to explain the theory that USDT was ever used to manipulate the price of Bitcoin. However, back in 2019, the reports showed that Tether admitted than only 74% of its issuances were actually backed by cash of short-term securities. Also, it was visible that Tether was used to inflate the price of bitcoin while the matter still remains inconclusive:

 “Tether is proud to play a critical role in the digital token ecosystem. This meritless lawsuit is an insult to the ingenuity of Tether’s customers, as well as the success and innovation of the industry and all who play a role in it.’’