A new partnership with Bahamas-based Britannia Bank & Trust marks the third offshore bank to work with Tether, following Deltec and Capital Union.
As the US continues its grip of hostility toward the crypto industry, US-based companies are increasingly turning offshore. One such company is stablecoin issuer Tether.
Sources told Bloomberg on August 30 that Tether has added Britannia Bank & Trust, a private bank based in the Bahamas, to process dollar transfers.
It’s unclear when the banking relationship started, but Tether has recently started instructing clients to send money to Britannia’s bank account, the report states.
The partnership marks the third off-shore bank to work with Tether, following Deltec and Capital Union.
Tether is currently the largest stablecoin provider, holding a market cap of $82.7 billion. This represents 66% of the total market, data from CoinGecko shows.
A growing number of companies are turning to offshore banking as US regulators clamp down on crypto – particularly since the collapses of ‘crypto-friendly’ banks such as Silvergate, Signature and Silicon Valley Bank.
Read more: Silicon Valley Bank collapses, marking the biggest bank failure since 2008 crisis
Last month, Binance was forced to suspend USD deposits and withdrawals on its US platform after losing banking partners in light of its lawsuit with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The lawsuit accuses Binance of selling unregistered securities, alongside 12 other serious charges – all of which Binance denies.
The platform has since regained a USD onramp through its partnership with Moonpay, but the SEC has shown no signs of changing its attitude toward crypto.
On August 28, the Commission sued wellness media platform Impact Theory for selling NFTs as ‘unregistered securities’, slapping them with a $6.1 million fine.
In May, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong warned that hostile enforcement actions will drive US companies offshore, writing: “If we fall short today, the next generation of Americans will pay the price. We’re spending billions today to repatriate technologies like semiconductors and 5G infrastructure. We should learn from that mistake.”
He added, “Bringing crypto and blockchain innovation back to the U.S. in a decade from now will require a colossal and sustained effort that may not succeed. But we can save ourselves that struggle if cooler heads prevail and we work together. Let’s modernize our financial system and reaffirm our role as a global technology leader rather than abdicating it.”
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