Bloomberg reporter Matt Leising, who obtained bank statements from Tether's bank, Noble Bank in Puerto Rico, found that for those months, the number of dollars in the bank matched the amount of Tether outstanding. He talks about what this means, whether it matters that both Tether and Noble Bank were founded by Brock Pierce, and whether it matters that the statements are not the most recent. We also touch on other investigations involving Tether, including the CFTC's investigation into whether Tether is fully backed by dollar reserves, the Department of Justice's investigation into whether Tether was used to manipulate the Bitcoin price, and why both Tether and Bitfinex have had such a hard time maintaining banking relationships.

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Episode links:

Matt Leising: https://www.bloomberg.com/authors/AGfq0QVqo0I/matthew-leising

https://mobile.twitter.com/mattleising

His story on Tether: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-12-18/crypto-mystery-clues-suggest-tether-has-the-billions-it-promised?srnd=premium

CFTC subpoeanas Tether and Bitfinex:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-01-30/crypto-exchange-bitfinex-tether-said-to-get-subpoenaed-by-cftc

Bitfinex moves to Noble Bank: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-24/bitfinex-said-to-find-bank-in-puerto-rico-after-wells-fargo-exit

Tether moves to Deltec bank: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-02/bank-tied-to-tether-goes-quiet-on-relationship-with-crypto-firm

DOJ’s investigation into whether Tether was used to manipulate the Bitcoin price: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-11-20/bitcoin-rigging-criminal-probe-is-said-to-focus-on-tie-to-tether