Tether's Crypto Exchange Balance Hits Record High

Tether balances on crypto exchanges reached a record high of 20.339 billion on August 13, following the minting of $1 billion worth of USDT

Tether (USDT) balances on major crypto exchanges hit a record high of 20.339 billion on August 13. This followed the minting of $1 billion in USDT on the Ethereum network, which Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino clarified was an “inventory replenish,” with tokens reserved for future issuance requests and chain swaps. As of today, $941.72 million in USDT still remained “authorized but not issued” on Ethereum.

The record balance suggests that investors may be preparing to deploy stablecoins into crypto assets ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s September rate decision. This process is akin to inventory replenishment in traditional finance, where Tether creates USDT to maintain sufficient reserves without immediately releasing them into circulation.

dYdX Introduces Permissionless Listing, MegaVault

Crypto trading platform dYdX has announced several updates to its chain, including permissionless listing. This new feature allows users to list tokens without approval if they deposit a certain amount of USDC into a new feature called “MegaVault.” The precise deposit amount will be determined through the platform’s governance mechanism. According to dYdX, this permissionless market listing with automatic liquidity is not yet available on other decentralized or centralized exchanges.

The MegaVault will act as the platform’s master liquidity pool and market maker for all markets, including newly added ones. Depositors will receive a portion of the revenue generated and a share of protocol revenue. MegaVault depositors won’t need to choose specific markets for liquidity provision, as funds will automatically market-make across various markets.

Iran Offers Bounty for Reporting Illegal Miners

Citizens who expose illegal crypto miners in Iran will be rewarded with $20 by the country’s state power company, Tavanir. According to Tavanir’s CEO, Mostafa Rajabi Mashhadi, illegal crypto miners and a 49.7°C (121°F) heatwave are causing significant disruptions to the electricity network.

The company has discovered over 230,000 illegal cryptocurrency mining devices, with their electricity consumption comparable to that of the Markazi Province. This would require the construction of a 1,300-megawatt power plant to meet the demand. The frequent power outages resulting from this situation are causing a crisis in industrial production, repeatedly halting operations.

Canadian Crypto Exchange ezBtc Misappropriates $9.5M in Bitcoin, Ether

The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has uncovered a scandal involving Canadian crypto exchange ezBtc and its founder, David Smillie. Between 2016 and 2019, Smillie misappropriated $9.5 million in Bitcoin and Ether from customer accounts. He diverted nearly one-third of the 2,300 Bitcoin and 600 Ether collected from investors.

Smillie transferred 935.46 Bitcoin and 159 Ether to his personal exchange accounts and gambling platforms like CloudBet and FortuneJack. The BCSC described these actions as deceitful, leading to irretrievable losses for many ezBtc customers.

Bitget Hires Former Binance Policy Head as CLO

Cryptocurrency exchange and web3 company Bitget has appointed Hon Ng as its Chief Legal Officer. Ng will oversee the company’s adherence to global regulatory requirements, engage with regulators, and assist in market expansion by obtaining licenses.

Previously, Ng served as General Counsel and Head of Government Affairs and Policy at Binance. He used to oversee the exchange’s cooperation and settlement with worldwide regulators there. Before his time at Binance, Ng worked at Uber in various legal and business development roles. Bitget CEO Gracy Chen praised Ng’s extensive experience in digital and Web3-related legal and compliance affairs, citing it as a key factor in his appointment.

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