/ Conviction Index / USDT (Tether)

USDT (Tether)

Stablecoin · USDT · Launched 2014
C+

Mixed (C+) — Conviction Grade

USDT is the largest stablecoin by market cap. Tether's reserve composition has historically lacked the transparency of USDC; Tether publishes quarterly attestations but not full audits. Material settlements with NYAG (2021) and CFTC (2021) for prior reserve misrepresentation. Continues to dominate offshore and emerging-market crypto liquidity.

67
Composite / 100
/ Subscore Breakdown · 5 Dimensions

Where this grade comes from.

Protocol Security
B
Governance Decentralization
D
Liquidity
A
Adoption & Utility
A
Regulatory Posture
C
/ Public-Record Events

Key events & disclosures.

  • Launch 2014
  • NYAG settlement 2021 ($18.5M)
  • CFTC settlement 2021 ($41M)
  • Quarterly attestations (not full audits)

/ Best for

Limited institutional recommendation. Where USDT-specific liquidity is required (emerging-market venues), allocate with awareness of reserve transparency limitations.

/ Watch out for

Reserve composition transparency materially below USDC. Multiple regulatory settlements. Banking-relationships have been navigated through multiple counterparties (Deltec, Cantor Fitzgerald, etc.). Institutional allocations should default to USDC absent specific USDT-liquidity requirements.