Tether Caps EQIBank Exposure at About $64 Million After U.S. Seizure
The exposure is less than 0.034% of Tether’s group assets after U.S. authorities seized roughly $89 million linked to EQIBank.
Tether said its exposure to EQIBank is capped at about $64 million after U.S. authorities seized roughly $89 million in assets linked to the Dominica-licensed bank, putting the counterparty relationship under scrutiny.
The exposure represents less than 0.034% of Tether’s total group assets. Applying that ceiling to the $187.75 billion in assets Tether disclosed in June produces an estimated maximum of about $64 million, although Tether has not disclosed the specific amount held at EQIBank.
EQIBank said the seizure represents about 80% of its monetary assets and could force the bank into liquidation. The seized assets were tied to conduct involving U.S. payment processor Capstone, which Tether said it did not know about in advance.
EQIBank had previously provided banking services to Tether, including wire transfers connected with USDT purchases and redemptions. The episode has not been shown to pose a direct threat to Tether’s reserves or the dollar peg, but it highlights the banking and fiat-channel counterparty risks stablecoin issuers face.
