Tether cryptocurrency price today. (GlobeLiveMedia/Jovani Perez)

Tether is a cryptocurrency issued by Tether Limited. Born as a stablecoin, it was initially stated that each token was backed by a US dollar, however, several controversies have brought this point to the table.

Attached it was the first stablecoin to exist. It was launched in 2014 by businessman Reeve Collins; bitcoin investor Brock Pierce; and developer, Craig Stellers. Since then, it has become the largest by market capitalization.

Tether was originally available through Omni Layer, but now it can be accessed in various block chains. With the approval of Limited tetheryou can switch between USD and Tether, a mechanism that helps keep the stablecoin pegged.

The Tether Limited network is in turn controlled by the owners of the Bitfinex cryptocurrency exchange, which has been accused by the New York Attorney’s Office to use Tether funds to cover 850 million missing funds since mid-2018.

Cryptocurrency investors and regulators also joined the debate pointing out that the stablecoin is not fully guaranteed, a situation that brought it to court because its users have no guarantee that their tokens can be exchanged for dollars. On April 30, 2019, the company’s lawyer confirmed that the token was linked to a change of $0.74.

Physical representations of various cryptocurrencies (REUTERS / Banco Santander)
Physical representations of various cryptocurrencies (REUTERS / Banco Santander)

While the debate heats up every day on the convenience or not of its use, Tether is trading today at 1000 USD1475, which represents a change of 0.0% compared to the last 24 hours and a change of 0.0% with reference to its value reached in the last hour.

Physical representations of various cryptocurrencies.  (REUTERS/Edgar Su)
Physical representations of various cryptocurrencies. (REUTERS/Edgar Su)

a virtual currency is a digital medium an exchange that does not physically exist and uses cryptographic encryption to ensure the integrity of its transactions, while maintaining control over the creation of its new units.

Bitcoin was the first to hit the market and was followed by others that also had great relevance, such as litecoin, ethereum, IOTA, tether, cash, ripple, decentraland, even some born of memes like dogecoin.

Cryptocurrencies have various factors that make them unique: not being controlled by an institution; not requiring intermediaries in transactions; And almost always use accounting blocks (blockchain) to prevent new cryptocurrencies from being created illegally or transactions already made from being tampered with.

However, by not having regulators such as a central bank or similar entities, they are singled out for not being reliable, being volatile, promoting fraud, not having a legal framework that supports its users, allowing the operation of illegal activities, among others.

    An ATM to buy cryptocurrencies.  (EFE)
An ATM to buy cryptocurrencies. (EFE)

To acquire and exchange them you can via specialized portals. Its value varies based on supply, demand and user engagement, so it can change faster than traditional currency, but the more people are interested and want to buy a certain currency, the more its value is high.

However, anyone investing in this type of digital asset should be very clear that this form entails a high risk for the capitalWell, just as there can be a surge, it can also crash unexpectedly and wipe out the savings of its users.

To store them, users must have a digital currency or wallet, which is actually software through which it is possible to save, send and transact cryptocurrencies. In reality, this type of wallet only stores the keys that mark a person’s ownership and right to a certain cryptocurrency, so these codes are the ones that really need to be protected.

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