Cryptocurrencies - intelligent commentary

[fastupslowdown]

The funniest part is the largest stablecoin, Tether, has never had a real audit.
Most stablecoins don't have audits, just attestations.

Take Tether, the company behind the world's largest stablecoin. In recent months, it launched a marketing blitz of blogs and press releases, touting its transparency, after a series of crypto firm failures rattled investor confidence in it. Tether is designed to grease the rails of the roughly $1 trillion cryptocurrency market by promising each token can be redeemed for $1. Market observers have long questioned whether the firm's reserves are sufficient and have been demanding audited information.
The company has been promising an audit since at least 2017. An audit is "likely months" away, said Paolo Ardoino, chief technology officer of Tether Holdings Ltd., which issues the tether coin that recently carried a market value of $68 billion.
"Things are going slower than...we would like," Mr. Ardoino said.
Instead of a full audit, Tether, like other leading stablecoins, publishes an "attestation" showing a snapshot of its reserves and liabilities, signed off by its accounting firm.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/tether-...rs-11661568971

[Scott G.]

The funniest part is the largest stablecoin, Tether, has never had a real audit.
Most stablecoins don't have audits, just attestations.

Tether had a bona fide Kew Gardener count their tulip bulbs.

"Tether stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible"
Mr. Benet, auditor in residence.

[fastupslowdown]

It's like playing dominos

https://www.reuters.com/technology/c...on-2022-11-28/

[j44ke]

Good thing this is all play-money and not the real thing, #amiright ?

Those silly kids...

[fastupslowdown]

Good thing this is all play-money and not the real thing, #amiright ?

Those silly kids...

unfortunately this stuff is showing up on public balance sheets according to francine mckenna

[j44ke]

unfortunately this stuff is showing up on public balance sheets according to francine mckenna

I could put my grandma's ashes on a balance sheet - doesn't make it money.

[fastupslowdown]

[caleb]

The funniest part is the largest stablecoin, Tether, has never had a real audit.
Most stablecoins don't have audits, just attestations.

I think the only other time I've heard the phrase "attestation" in public involved Mazars and a former president and an accountant on his way to the big house.

Does an attestation have any legal or professional requirements?

In a former job, I sat on a college board's subcommittee for audits. Once a year a big accounting firm distributed giant paper copies of their audit in advance of meeting with the subcommittee in a windowless conference room in the basement of the library. They were very serious. They answered every question. They did not talk about attestations.

[72gmc]

So ... an attestation says yep, we verify that those numbers and documents are authentic numbers and documents ... but an audit determines if the numbers and documents are accurate and complete?

Appearance vs. substance?

[lumpy]

Tether had a bona fide Kew Gardener count their tulip bulbs.

"Tether stands as she stood, rock-bottomed and copper-sheathed, one and indivisible"
Mr. Benet, auditor in residence.

Later: "You can't tell me Tether is dead! Why it was just spry and mean as a woodchuck, Tuesday!"
Mr. Benet with the postmortem

[fastupslowdown]

Later: "You can't tell me Tether is dead! Why it was just spry and mean as a woodchuck, Tuesday!"
Mr. Benet with the postmortem

he's pining for the fjords