As the crypto ship steadies, is Tether next?

Major exchanges have been broadsided by the SEC, including Binance and Coinbase just recently. Is Tether going to be the next port of call for the SEC?

SEC master plan

All the grandmasters of chess were able to think many moves ahead and thus lay ambushes for their opponents. While the SEC can hardly be likened to a grandmaster, it probably has it in mind that in order to cause the most consternation in the crypto world a Wells Notice for Tether would be a good move.

The SEC, led by its captain Gary Gensler, isn’t the fastest moving or rapier like opponent for crypto, but it does have bludgeoning force. Sending in a suit against Binance was like a typhoon. Then pouring it on by suing Coinbase was akin to a hurricane. Going next for Tether would hit the crypto markets like a tsunami.

Choppy seas remain

Currently, the crypto market is in rather stormy waters. Bitcoin suffered a 6.4% fall on Tuesday when the Coinbase news came roaring in. The rest of the crypto market followed suit and many cryptocurrencies fell in the double digits.

However, perhaps big capital funds were nimble enough to jump into the market when things looked pretty bad and bought the dip, sending Bitcoin and crypto back up to pretty much where they were at the start of the day on Tuesday.

So the SEC- inspired storm hit, caused a fair bit of havoc and carnage, but as with all storms it blew over after a while and much fairer weather ensued.

Today, the same old lingering fear is palpably still there in crypto. All must be asking themselves that if the SEC cuts off all the banks, swamps the big exchanges with litigation, has a quiet word with the big market makers, and brings in crushing regulation, then how on earth is the industry going to survive?

Tether next?

And on top of that there is the potential of an SEC move against Tether. John Reed Stark, former SEC Head of Internet Enforcement, has stated that Tether needs to undergo a full traditional financial audit, expressing his astonishment that Tether is allowed to continue without one.

John Reed Stark is only a self-styled expert on these matters but he still may have the ear of the SEC and could also be aware of impending moves that the agency might be preparing.

Fairer weather for Bitcoin

So for crypto at least, the next few weeks and months could see a fair bit of volatility, especially when the waves of bad news come crashing in. However, Bitcoin appears to be outside of all of this. It is one of the only cryptos that the SEC grudgingly admits to being a commodity.

That its bull market has begun is a very strong possibility. Also, with other asset classes potentially about to be pummelled should the US and other major economies enter recession, Bitcoin could finally be that hedge out of the toxic traditional financial system that it has wanted to be for so long.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.