Tether has appointed chainalysis expert Philip Gradwell as its director of economics to enhance the transparency of USDT usage relative to regulators.
Through a new employee, Tether intends to enhance the transparency of its stablecoin usage.
Philip Gradwell, who was previously the chief economist at Chainalysis, has been appointed as the company’s director of economics, according to an announcement made on July 15. Gradwell will be responsible for quantifying and communicating Tether’s USDT usage to regulators and stakeholders.
Gradwell will now analyze USDT data globally following his six-year tenure at the blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. USDT has experienced daily trading volumes of billions of dollars since 2017. Messari data indicates that the stablecoin’s volume over the past 24 hours was $32.23 billion.
Gradwell stated that “many people still view digital assets as a mystery, partly due to the industry’s focus on technology rather than practical use cases.”
He also stated that his objective at Tether is to “shift this conversation towards understanding how digital assets are used in the real economy and how USDT is supporting dollar hegemony.”
Cooperation between the United States and Tether
One of Gradwell’s responsibilities is engaging with regulators, particularly in the United States. A combination of collaboration and scrutiny has characterized Tether’s interactions with federal agencies in the country.
Tether and its sister company, Bitfinex, settled with the New York Attorney General in February 2021 for $18.5 million. The lawsuit was based on allegations that Tether had misrepresented the quantity of fiat collateral backing its tokens.
Tether was prohibited from conducting business in New York and was required to furnish quarterly reserve reports for two years as part of the settlement.
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation has been onboarded to the company’s platform as one of its most recent initiatives to foster government cooperation.
Additionally, in March, Tether assisted the US Department of Justice recover approximately $1.4 million in misappropriated USDT from an unhosted digital wallet.
Gradwell will be crucial in “improving communication with regulatory bodies and stakeholders,” as per Tether.
In recent years, USDT’s market share has been buoyed by government scrutiny of the crypto industry. The stablecoin holds a 69% market share, with Circle’s stablecoin, USD Coin, following directly behind. USDT’s current market capitalization is $112 billion, as data from DefiLlama indicates.
