Tether issues USDT, the largest stablecoin by market cap with over $145B in circulation. Reserves are primarily held in US Treasury bills through Cantor Fitzgerald. Tether publishes quarterly attestation reports through BDO Italia but has never completed a full independent audit. Despite transparency concerns, USDT dominates global trading volume and emerging market dollar access.
Visit Tether (USDT)It depends on what you need it to survive. Tether (USDT) runs single custodian (cantor fitzgerald) custody, which has a single point of failure: one institution's failure can reach your bitcoin. Proof of Custody scores it 62/100 as of 2026-03-02. Exchange / single custodian account is a good fit for first purchases and small balances, where losing the amount would sting but not change your life, and the wrong choice for life-changing amounts: you are an unsecured creditor in the failure case, and every era of our incident registry includes this exact loss. The score is an editorial judgement; the facts to check are the custody model, the single point of failure and the incident history below.
| Custody model | Single Custodian (Cantor Fitzgerald) Proof of Custody classification from the provider's own documents |
|---|---|
| Single point of failure | Yes: one institution, device or person can move or lose the holding Record as of 2026-03-02 |
| Who holds the keys | Not published in enough detail to state |
| Independence standard | 0 of 4 pillars met |
| Insurance | Not disclosed by the provider |
| Regulatory standing | El Salvador DASP Jurisdiction: British Virgin Islands / El Salvador |
| Qualified custodian | No |
| Incidents in the registry | None recorded. Absence from the registry is not evidence of safety. |
| Fees | 0.1% redemption fee Provider pricing page; verify before relying on it |
| Minimum | $100K (direct redemption) |
| Proof of Custody score | 62/100 Editorial judgement on the published methodology, as of 2026-03-02 |
Facts come from the provider's own documents and public filings, with the date they were last checked. The score is Proof of Custody's judgement. Dispute a row through the corrections process.
Largest stablecoin by market cap ($145B+). Deepest liquidity across all exchanges and chains. Dominant in emerging market remittance and trading.
No full independent audit has ever been published. Quarterly attestations by BDO Italia provide limited assurance. Reserve composition has historically included commercial paper and secured loans. GENIUS Act compliance is uncertain.
1 independent party or system must fail before a Tether (USDT) holder's bitcoin is at risk.
Tether (USDT)'s custody insurance is not publicly disclosed.
Tether (USDT) uses a single custodian (cantor fitzgerald) model and scores 62/100 in our independent review, including 55/100 on custody security. One institution can move funds, which is a single point of failure. Safety depends on your priorities; see the full score breakdown above.
Tether (USDT)'s custody insurance is not publicly disclosed in a form we can verify. Where it exists, custody insurance covers specific named events up to shared limits and does not cover price loss. Confirm coverage in writing before relying on it.
Because Tether (USDT) holds custody through a single institution, recovery in a failure would run through that institution's bankruptcy or resolution process and depends on whether assets were segregated and properly titled. This is the concentration risk of single-custodian models.
Tether (USDT) does not advertise a dedicated inheritance or beneficiary feature in the data we track. Confirm current options with the provider, since custody inheritance handling changes.