Tether nears dollar parity after peg-loss concerns

Cryptocurrency prices were fractionally lower on Monday morning after a weekend of little movement as the dust settled on suggestions of tether-related market volatility.

Cryptocurrency prices have settled as concerns over tether ebb

Tether, the dollar-backed stablecoin, had for much of last week been subject to speculation that its dollar-peg had been dropped. This led to a covering rally in the token’s most valuable crosses.

Bitfinex

Bitfinex, one of the exchanges that has amassed large investor exposures to the tether/bitcoin (USDT/BTC) pair, saw bitcoin trade a $300 premium over its riva exchanges following the liquidation of tether crosses.

This liquidation also saw tether trade as low as 87 cents – leading many to fear its operators had failed to back the coin sufficiently with dollar reserves.

Tether told OpenLedger that, despite these market fluctuations, all USDT tokens in circulation remained backed – one-for-one – by US dollars.

On Monday, the tether price – although a shade lower on the day – was still closing in on parity with the dollar, standing at 98 cents.

The rest of the market continued to trade sideways, remaining rangebound as it has for much of the month.

Price round up

Here’s a round up of the market moves in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation at 11.30am [London time]:

• Bitcoin -0.8% at $6,569
• Ethereum -1.2% at 207.40
• Ripple XRP -2.2% at $0.46
• Bitcoin cash -1% at $454.16
• Eos -0.8% at $5.51
• Stellar lumens -1.7% at $0.25
• Litecoin -1.3% at $53.40
• Tether -0.3% at $0.98
• Cardano -2.2% at $0.08
• Monero -1% at $106.42