https://wccftech.com/is-hindenburg-researchs-1-million-bounty-for-dirt-on-tether-usdt-about-to-break-the-proverbial-back-of-the-ongoing-crypto-rally/

Tether (USDT), a stablecoin with its price pegged to 1 USD, has long been regarded as the soft underbelly of the crypto sphere. Now, however, with the prolific short-seller Hindenburg Research out for Tether’s proverbial blood, chickens may finally be coming home to roost for the stablecoin.

As a refresher, Tether is currently the fifth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, as per a tabulation by CoinMarketCap. Tether tokens – developed by the crypto exchange BitFinex and which trade under the symbol USDT – were originally backed by an equivalent number of US dollars. This meant that each USDT should always equal 1 USD. However, back in February 2019, Tether changed (retrieved from archive.org) this policy to one where the Tether coins are now “100%” backed by its “reserves”. For reference, these reserves include currency, cash equivalents (such as US Treasuries), as well as other assets and receivables from loans made by the company to third parties. As is evident, the wording around this crucial policy is quite vague and forms the basis of the plethora of criticism that has been heaped on Tether in the interim.