Several analysts suspect the course of Bitcoin to have been manipulated in 2017. The Tether, a cryptocurrency developed by Bitfinex , would be partly responsible for this phenomenal rise.
The Tether is on the dock
"The Tether would have been used to manipulate the price of Bitcoin in December 2017, when the price of Bitcoin crossed the threshold of $ 20,000. "
This revelation is part of a study by John Griffin, a professor at the University of Texas, known for his flawless work on the suspicious activity of "VIX" last year.
A 66-page report entitled "Is Bitcoin really de-Tetherised ? " (Un-Tethered) highlights that the Tether Stablecoin (USDT) has been repeatedly manipulated to artificially inflate the price of the first cryptocurrency during market downturns.
"We see, overall, that the Tether has a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market. Tether seems to be used both to stabilize and manipulate the price of Bitcoin, "co-wrote researchers John Griffin and Amin Shams. "Less than 1% of Tether's large-scale transaction hours are associated with 50% of the dramatic increase in Bitcoin prices and 64% of other crypto-currencies. "
The Tether has also been closely monitored due to a suspicious increase in its market capitalization in 2017. This cryptocurrency has a large reserve of bank notes. However, most cryptocurrency trading platforms have difficulties in entering into a banking partnership. Financial institutions refuse to provide their services to businesses related to virtual currencies on the one hand and crypto-purses on the other hand have difficulty in complying with the regulations established by the regulators.
The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is also reported to have sent Bitfinex a subpoena in December.
Do you think that the price of Bitcoin has actually been manipulated by the Tether? What do you think about the study of researchers John Griffin and Amin Shams? Comment in the comments section below.