Hold onto your hats, crypto enthusiasts, because this wild ride isn't for the faint-hearted! The crypto landscape was shaken up on Friday night, thanks to a report from the Wall Street Journal that sent shockwaves through the markets. The report suggested that Tether, the company behind the mega-popular stablecoin USDT, might be under the watchful eye of the US federal government for potential breaches of anti-money laundering laws and sanctions. But wait, Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, was quick to slam the brakes on these claims, calling them nothing more than recycled noise.
Despite Tether’s swift denial, the damage was already done. The market saw a rollercoaster of volatility, with Bitcoin and its altcoin buddies taking a nosedive. Bitcoin, which was flirting with the $69,000 mark, suddenly found itself down by over $3,000, before clawing its way back up to around $67,000. The altcoin scene wasn’t spared this drama either, with total liquidations hitting a whopping $405 million in just 24 hours! Talk about a shake-up!
The drama didn’t stop there. Almost 150,000 traders, who might have been a bit too optimistic with their leveraged positions, found themselves in quite the pickle. In fact, Bitcoin and Ethereum alone saw liquidations of $68 million and $65 million, respectively.
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. While the crypto scene can be as unpredictable as a coin flip, Tether’s response suggests that there might be more smoke than fire in those WSJ allegations. Ardoino confidently stated that Tether regularly collaborates with law enforcement to ensure that USDT doesn’t find its way into the wrong hands. So, for now, it looks like the crypto world can breathe a small sigh of relief, but as always, stay tuned for more twists and turns!
