Consumer protection organization Consumers' Research issued a warning against stablecoin issuer Tether in a report published on September 12, accusing the company of problems with the transparency of its dollar reserves.

The organization claims that despite repeated promises from Tether to audit its reserves, no complete audit report of its dollar reserves from a major accounting firm has been provided to date. The report’s authors argue that this lack of transparency mirrors the situation before the collapse of FTX and Alameda Research.

The organization also released an open letter to governors across the United States, alerting them to Tether's lack of transparency. In addition, the consumer watchdog detailed its accusations through publicity campaigns and by setting up a dedicated website.

At the end of the report, the organization also accused Tether of collaborating with criminals, failing to prevent illegal entities from using USDT to circumvent international sanctions.

Despite the questions, the market is not entirely skeptical of Tether's reserves. In January, Cantor Fitzgerald, a US securities portfolio management company responsible for holding Tether's assets, assured the public that Tether's cash reserves were sufficient. The company's CEO said at the time:

“Based on our investigation, they actually have the funds they claim to have.”

To improve transparency, Tether also hired former Chainalysis Chief Economist Philip Gradwell in July to write USDT adoption reports, which will be provided to US regulators and investors to help explain the use of stablecoins.