Tether Allegedly Received Ransom Note Demanding 500 BTC
Tether, the issuer of the USDT (+0.14%) stablecoin, claims to have received a ransom note asking for 500 bitcoin (BTC, +4.75%) (currently worth about USD $22 million), lest documents be made public that could “harm the bitcoin ecosystem.” Tether disclosed the alleged extortion attempt in a tweet Sunday.
“While we believe this is a pretty sad attempt at a shakedown, we take it seriously. We have reported the forged communications and the associated ransom demand to law enforcement. As always, we will fully support law enforcement in an investigation of this extortion scheme,” Tether tweeted.
Tether serves an important, though sometimes controversial, role in the cryptocurrency market. Its USDT token, pegged to the U.S. dollar, is used by traders, exchanges and throughout the crypto economy giving it what some call systemic importance.
