Brock Pierce, the co-founder of Tether, is worried that the stablecoin isn’t going to survive the latest ‘assaults’ by the US government.
On July 9, the New York court approved an investigation into the businesses behind the cryptocurrency. The total market value of the businesses involved is estimated to be around $10 billion. Whether the investigation involves Pierce or some of his associates remains unclear.
New York Launches an Official Investigation on Tether
Brock Pierce was one of the people involved in the creation of Tether in 2014. Labeled the stablecoin, the cryptocurrency was supposed to provide the investors with a peace of mind regarding its price. The price of Tether was originally meant to be equal to the US dollar.
Fast-forward four years and people have started asking the question of whether the stablecoin was actually using the dollar-for-dollar model. The discussion prompted the New York state attorney general to launch an investigation of whether there’s some money-laundering going on behind the scenes.
Tether, as well as one of its main investors, a company called Bitfinex, tried to stop the investigation by filing an appeal. It did put a temporary halt, but since this week, the investigation is back on the way. The decision of the New York court comes at a strange time for the Tether co-founder Brock Pierce, as he’s only recently announced his decision to run for US Presidency.
Brock Pierce to Run for US Presidency
On July 4, Brock Pierce announced his plan to run for US Presidency as an independent on a tech-based platform. The former child actor who appeared in several Disney movies back in the 1990s is no stranger to the world of politics. One of his close associates is Steve Bannon, the former chief strategist of Donald Trump.
Speaking of the current US President, Trump is famously not a big fan of cryptocurrencies, who’s said about bitcoin that it was ‘made of thin air.’ Pierce’s campaign is likely to take the exact opposite direction.
Apart from Tether, Brock has been involved in many other cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and several altcoins. His cryptocurrency investments have made him a millionaire, with an estimated worth measured in hundreds of millions of dollars.
Brock Pierce’s Checkered Past
Brock Pierce’s Presidential candidacy has already hit a rough road after the New York attorney general has been given permission to relaunch the Tether investigation. However, that’s not the only problem his political campaign will have to deal with.
The biggest controversy surrounding the Tether co-founder happened in 2000 when he was accused of sexual abuse by three former DEN employees. According to them, Pierce pressured them for sex at the time when they were still underage boys. Two charges were dropped, but Pierce did have to pay about $21,000 to settle one of those.
Being such a controversial figure, Pierce is far from being considered a strong candidate for US Presidency. It’s fair to say that the future of his political career does not seem too bright. The future of his crypto brainchild, Tether, however, does not seem that bad. Despite all the controversy surrounding it, Tether’s popularity keeps on increasing.
