Tether, the issuer of the dollar-pegged cryptocurrency USDT, said its relationship with audit firm Friedman LLP has ended.
In a preliminary report released in September, Friedman said Tether had $442.9 million of cash on reserve, matching the outstanding issuance of USDT – but that assessment was not a full audit and contained numerous caveats.
The statement reads:
"We confirm that the relationship with Friedman is dissolved. Given the excruciatingly detailed procedures Friedman was undertaking for the relatively simple balance sheet of Tether, it became clear that an audit would be unattainable in a reasonable time frame. As Tether is the first company in the space to undergo this process and pursue this level of transparency, there is no precedent set to guide the process nor any benchmark against which to measure its success."
The company remains "committed to the process," the spokesperson added.
Reaction on Twitter:
"Bitfinex fails to perform promised audits. Instead, they have a shareholder tell everyone it’s all cool."
"Spoiler Alert: The ‘Institution’ buying Tethers, is Bitfinex themselves."
"The Bitfinex Dilemma: Blow up now, or try a Hail-Mary to retain in business."