over its dollar-pegged digital token Tether has sent bitcoin sinking below $10,000.
Bloomberg is reporting that the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has sent subpoenas to Bitfinex and Tether, the firm behind a namesake digital token that is directly pegged to the value of a US dollar and is used for widely used for trading among exchanges globally. While Tether says its $2.3 billion in tokens are backed by USD reserves, the CFTC and Tether’s skeptics have questioned that very claim.
In a statement to Bloomberg, Bitfinex and Tether did not discredit news of the subpoena, stating:
We routinely receive legal process from law enforcement agents and regulators conducting investigations. It is our policy not to comment on any such requests.
The subsequent reaction in Bitfinex’s own trading markets has seen bitcoin price fall to a 13-day low of $9,900. At press time, price is back up above $10,100.