Tether USD

Title, redemption claim, fractional ownership, reserve exposure — or just narrative.

Each USDT represents a personal contractual right to redeem one token for one unit of the pegged fiat currency from Tether, less fees, with tokens stated as one hundred percent backed by Tether's reserves; the tokens are not legal tender, carry no deposit insurance or government backing, and holders have no claim on reserve appreciation above face value.

Evidence: [1] · [2]

Needs an identifiable custodian or entity — not a wallet address or a label.

The issuing entity Tether International S.A. de C.V. is the identifiable reserve holder, stating reserves are held primarily with unnamed third-party banks and licensed financial institutions; BDO obtained confirmation letters from those banks and depositaries, but the actual custodian bank names are not publicly disclosed.

Evidence: [1] · [2]

Custodian records → inventory → third-party audit → supply reconciliation.

Tether publishes daily self-reported circulation figures and quarterly reserve reports, backed by quarterly ISAE 3000R reasonable-assurance opinions from BDO Italia confirming consolidated assets exceeded liabilities at each reporting date, with procedures including bank confirmations, precious-metal inventory sampling, and blockchain ledger reconciliation; this is attestation rather than a full audit, opinions are point-in-time with stated scope limits, and custodian names remain undisclosed.

Evidence: [1] · [2] · [3]

Eligibility, minimums, fees, KYC, settlement — and what happens to the token.

Direct issuance and redemption are restricted to KYC-verified customers in allowed jurisdictions via Tether's primary market; minimum redemption is tokens valued at one hundred thousand US dollars, with a fee of the greater of one thousand dollars or zero point one percent, proceeds paid to the customer's bank account; Tether may delay or suspend redemptions in defined circumstances, redeemed tokens are removed from circulation, and secondary-market holders have no direct redemption claim on Tether.

Evidence: [1] · [2] · [3]

A legally accountable entity and jurisdiction — not a DAO label.

The legally accountable counterparty is Tether International S.A. de C.V., formerly Tether International Limited, redomiciled from the British Virgin Islands to the Republic of El Salvador, registered there as a stablecoin issuer and digital asset service provider under the National Commission of Digital Assets; its terms deem all primary-market purchase and redemption transactions to be located in El Salvador.

Evidence: [1] · [2]