USDT is the biggest stablecoin, a digital asset designed to hold a stable value—unlike Bitcoin or Ethereum—by having reserves of stable assets. In Tether’s case, USDT is backed by U.S. dollars, treasuries and other assets.
In the world of crypto, Tether’s USDT is massively important: Traders use it to enter and exit trades instead of relying on banks.
But Tether is a controversial company. Regulators have opened investigations into—and even sued—the firm for allegedly not being transparent enough about what backs its reserves.
The company has said it is open to being independently audited by one of the Big Four accounting firms.