Stablecoin issuer Tether stated that its exposure to EQIBank amounts to less than 0.034% of its total assets, following a U.S. asset seizure involving the lender's payment processor.
Dominica-licensed offshore digital bank EQIBank faces potential liquidation after a $89 million U.S. asset seizure tied to its payment processor, Capstone. Court filings indicate that EQIBank used Capstone to hold funds and move customer money through accounts at Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase. U.S. prosecutors seized money from those Capstone accounts and filed a civil forfeiture case, alleging that Capstone misrepresented its business to the banks.
EQIBank provided banking services to Tether, which included processing wire transfers linked to the purchases and redemptions of USDT. While Tether did not disclose an exact dollar amount, its stated ceiling of less than 0.034% of its reported $187.75 billion in group assets puts the maximum exposure at roughly $64 million.
A Tether spokesperson stated that the company had no knowledge of the conduct by Capstone alleged by the Department of Justice. The incident does not present an immediate threat to USDT's reserves or its dollar peg, though it draws attention to counterparty risks within the network of banks that assist stablecoin issuers in processing customer deposits and redemptions.
