There is growing concern that the cryptocurrency stablecoin Tether (USDT) has become a common means of money laundering.
The world’s largest stablecoin is tied to the US dollar, typically staying around $1 USD in value per 1 USDT token. The United Nations has recently raised concerns that Tether may be commonly used to hide illegal money transactions.
Tether is very easy to use and widely accepted, and it can even be purchased on the global online payment service PayPal. Cryptocurrency of any kind offers a level of anonymity that other forms of online payment do not, and Tether is no exception to that.
Because it is so easy to make payments anonymously, Tether can be used for money laundering and slip under the radar of many government monitoring agencies. Cryptocurrency can typically be tied back to an IP address, but finding out who that address belongs to is more difficult. Additionally, IP addresses can be shielded or disguised, making it even harder for authorities to figure out who is sending or receiving the money.
Tether is one of the most widely used cryptocurrencies in the world, with more than $45 billion changing hands every 24 hours at this time.
Online Scamming Often Uses Tether
The United Nations is concerned about the way Tether is being used and how it helps to hide criminals and their activities. Many online scammers use Tether because of the characteristics already listed as well as the stable value of the token. They know that they can hold onto the coin for a while before using it and that it is likely to retain its value, making Tether transactions even harder for government authorities to track than other crypto tokens.
The UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime) released a report recently on how Tether might be used for criminal activities and why there is a greater need for more oversight and less anonymity related to decentralized currencies like Tether.
