TL;DR
- Tether says assets held with offshore banking partner EQIBank represent less than 0.034% of its total group assets.
- U.S. authorities are seeking forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars tied to EQIBank payment processor Capstone.
- Tether says it had no knowledge of the conduct alleged by prosecutors and has not disclosed the exact amount it holds with the bank.
Tether is trying to contain concerns around one of its banking counterparties after U.S. authorities seized assets connected with EQIBank’s payment infrastructure.
The USDT issuer says its exposure to EQIBank amounts to less than 0.034% of Tether’s total group assets.
Based on Tether’s latest reported asset base of roughly $187.75 billion, that percentage would imply a ceiling below approximately $64 million.
The company has not disclosed the actual figure.
The Seizure Is About EQIBank’s Payment Processor
The legal action involves Capstone Limited, a payment processor used by EQIBank to move customer funds through U.S. banking channels.
Federal authorities have sought forfeiture of assets held in accounts associated with Capstone, with court filings identifying roughly $83 million in bank accounts alongside approximately 1.18 million USDT from cryptocurrency addresses.
EQIBank has separately described the affected amount as roughly $89 million and warned that losing access to the funds could put pressure on its ability to continue operating.
Tether has confirmed that EQIBank provided banking services connected with USDT purchases and redemptions.
It also says it had no knowledge of the conduct U.S. prosecutors have alleged against Capstone.
No finding has established that Tether participated in the alleged misconduct.
Stablecoin Reserves Still Depend On Traditional Counterparties
The episode highlights a less visible part of stablecoin infrastructure.
USDT moves across public blockchains, but the reserves and fiat flows behind the token still interact with banks, custodians, payment processors and other conventional financial institutions.
That creates counterparty risk even when the token itself operates normally.
Tether has spent years diversifying its reserve portfolio and banking relationships, with much of its asset base now concentrated in highly liquid instruments including U.S. Treasury bills.
The company’s stated EQIBank exposure is small relative to its overall balance sheet.
But the situation shows why the quality and legal position of banking partners still matter to stablecoin issuers.
A token can settle globally in seconds.
The dollars behind it still have to move through a financial system where accounts can be frozen, intermediaries can fail and courts can seize assets.
For Tether, the immediate message is that the exposure is limited.
For the wider stablecoin market, it is another reminder that blockchain settlement does not eliminate traditional financial counterparty risk.
This article was written by the News Desk and edited by Samuel Rae.
