Tether: a secretive $200 billion crypto currency company

Food for thought! The transition to digital currencies is not easy! Digital currencies provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to privatize money!

Why not privacy for a private company if it so chooses? Just because the company is large by some measure and executes significant transactions does not automatically impose or require more disclosure (as e.g. some journalists may wish).

Does the company break any criminal laws? Often banking and money transactions are more successful and best done discreetly!

"About Tether

Tether was founded by a group of Bitcoin enthusiasts and early adopters, passionate about facilitating the use of fiat currencies in a digital manner.

In 2014, the company launched Tether.to, a blockchain-enabled platform aimed at disrupting the conventional financial system with a more modern approach to money."

"Tether Operations, S.A. de C.V. is an El Salvador-based entity and part of the group of companies that issues and manages the USD₮ stablecoin." (Google Search)

"Tether, which mints the world’s most widely used crypto token, is likely one of the most valuable private companies on earth, with an estimated value of $200 billion, exceeding the total share value of McDonald’s.

The company’s token, known as USDT, is a stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar that has become the backbone of a parallel banking system pervading parts of the world.

The token has also become a key tool for money launderers for industrial-scale scam centers, which operate out of grim office complexes across Southeast Asia. Tether’s assistance in law enforcement investigations has become highly sought-after by agencies around the world struggling to address surging crypto crime. ...

But who owns this powerful and controversial firm? The company has never given a full picture publicly. ..."

Tether: a $200 billion crypto company you can’t look inside "Its USDT crypto token underpins a trillion-dollar market, but cryptocurrency giant Tether won’t answer questions about its ownership."

Tether

In a first, US will allow some private firms to carry out cyberattacks and disruptive operation against Transnational Criminal Organizations

Concerning! This could potentially have international ramifications! As a minimum these operations would have to be closely monitored and supervised.

"The U.S. government will for the first time allow vetted private companies to launch offensive cyber operations against international criminal gangs and hackers, the White House said on Wednesday.

In a newly published presidential memorandum, the Trump administration said the move will allow the federal government to use “innovative capabilities of the private sector” to combat cybercrime and threats targeting Americans, such as ransomware attacks, financial scams, and sextortion.

The memorandum allows private companies participating in the government’s program to conduct surveillance, like using spyware to collect intelligence, as well as make disruptive attacks aimed at the destruction of criminals’ data or systems.

The policy change marks a seismic shift in the U.S. government’s long-standing position under U.S. federal computer hacking laws, which broadly prohibit private companies from conducting cyberattacks or disruption operations without a court-authorized approval. ..."

In a first, US will allow some private firms to carry out cyberattacks | TechCrunch

Expanding Capabilities To Combat Transnational Cyber-Enabled Crime

PM Modi unveils India's First Private Orbital Rocket Vikram-1 with Palki Sharma

Good news! Very impressive!

Elon Musk says X is down for hours due to massive cyberattacks but only for 10 thousands of users

Since Musk joined President Trump's administration, his business is suffering!

However, reportedly X has more than 600 million monthly active users!

"... “We get attacked every day, but this was done with a lot of resources,” Musk claimed in a post. “Either a large, coordinated group and/or a country is involved. Tracing …” ...

Complaints about outages spiked Monday at 6 a.m. Eastern and again at 10 a.m, with more than 40,000 users reporting no access to the platform, according to the tracking website Downdetector.com. By afternoon, the reports had dropped to the low thousands. ..."

Elon Musk says X is down due to cyberattacks | TechCrunch

Elon Musk claims X being targeted in ‘massive cyberattack’ as service goes down

Commercial lunar lander touches down on moon in first

Good news! Private companies are taking over!

China’s private sector difficulties ‘can be overcome’, Xi tells leading entrepreneurs

When communists embrace entrepreneurs and private businesses!

 

When will China become a democracy? In 100 or a 1,000 years from now? 😊

Will China become a democracy before they adopt the Western alphabet? Don't bet! 😊

"President Xi Jinping on Monday assured China’s leading entrepreneurs of persistent government support as the world’s second-largest economy is facing greater external headwinds.

He also urged them to contribute more to the country’s tech innovation amid an intensifying rivalry with the United States, while promising more protection for entrepreneurial interests and wider market access. ..."

China’s private sector difficulties ‘can be overcome’, Xi tells leading entrepreneurs | South China Morning Post "The Chinese president’s first high-level symposium with business heads since 2018 is seen as a major show of support for the country’s private sector"

Ukrainian companies are springing up in Poland

Recommendable! Impressive! Good news!

China’s Two-Year Tech Crackdown Winds Up: What’s Changed?

Recommendable!