EXCLUSIVE'Next FTX' crypto giant Tether's ties to terrorists, trafficking to be exposed through campaign to take down 'Ponzi scheme' founded by former Disney child star

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Tether, the longtime 'U.S. dollar-backed' cryptocurrency, is being called out for connections to terrorists and human traffickers. 

The crypto company - which is one token per one dollar - touts itself as a 'stablecoin' that does not fluctuate in price, also making it a popular currency among bad actors seeking traceless payments, according to conservative nonprofit Consumers' Research. 

The consumer advocacy firm is running a multi-million dollar ad blitz highlighting Tether's alleged connections to the Chinese and Russian governments, terrorist outfits, human trafficking rings and Hamas.

Tether is a 'Ponzi scheme' that threatens to be the next crypto disaster like FTX Consumers' Research Executive Director Will Hild exclusively told DailyMail.com.

'It's been used by Russia to avoid monetary sanctions, it's been used by countries like Venezuela, and then it seems to be being used by human traffickers.'

Tether, which began in 2014, was co-founded by former Disney child star Brock Pierce, 43. He is no longer affiliated with the coin though. 

Consumers' Research launched a multimillion dollar ad campaign against the stablecoin Tether over its connections to crime, China, Russia, Hamas, and human trafficking

Pierce's circle of contacts included Steve Bannon, with whom he ran an internet gaming business and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, with whom he counseled on cryptocurrency.

Hild went on to say that Teher was the 'most used' stablecoin for criminal activity in 2023 'so it seems to be sort of the go-to coin for people who either want to avoid U.S. sanctions or break the law.'

Tether 'can't even undergo an audit to make sure that they are completely backed,' Hild added.

The consumers' firm is most concerned over the crypto's refusal to undergo an audit to ensure that it's tokens are indeed reassured one-to-one, coin to dollar.

'Like with FTX's illegal activity, [Tether] is sort of a fellow traveler with the Ponzi scheme aspect of it.'

'With FTX concerns [surrounded] the assets that they claimed they had on behalf of their customers. That's parallel number one. You've got parallel number two that they're both located outside United States.'

Currently the company - which has a market cap of over $112 billion - is based out of the British Virgin Islands. 

The disastrous crypto exchange FTX, who's founder ended up going to prison for illegally spending billions in user funds - was based out of the Bahamas.

However, 'All Tether tokens are pegged at 1-to-1 with a matching fiat currency and are backed 100% by Tether's Reserves,' the crypto firm states on its site. 

'Not only have the repeated criticisms concerning Tether’s reserves been thoroughly disproven, but the company has led the industry in its commitment to combating the illicit use of stablecoin technology,' a Tether spokesperson told DailyMail.com. 

'Notably, Tether has integrated the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service into its platform to enhance efforts against criminal activity involving stablecoins,' the spokesperson continued. 'To date, Tether has blocked or frozen over $1.3 billion in USDT linked to illicit activities.'

Still, cryptocurrency more generally also has clear uses for terrorism - and over 100 accounts on platforms such as Binance were found to have funneled money to Hamas as it wages war against Israel. 

Rendering of the Consumers' Research ad blitz in New York's Times Square 

The group is also calling out Tether's ties to drug smuggling

Around $800,000 was frozen in an October attempt to stop cash flowing to terrorism. 

North Korea has even used the crypto to fund its nuclear programs to avoid sanctions on traditional means of trade, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

'Tether is well-known for its nefarious ties to criminal activities,' Hild told DailyMail.com.

'Last year Tether was linked to nearly 20 billion in illicit transactions. Tether has also been used by Hamas, Al Qaeda, ISIS and others, with known terrorist-linked financial transactions in the millions.'

And cypto has been tied to Russian attempts to subvert sanctions that came about due to its invasion of Ukraine. 

Tether specifically has also been involved in human and drug smuggling operations, Hild told DailyMail.com. 

In November 2023, Tether announced it froze nearly $225 million in funds tied to a human smuggling ring following a Secret Service investigation. 

The coins were 'linked to an international human trafficking syndicate in Southeast Asia responsible for a global 'pig butchering' romance scam,' Tether said. 

Tether has also been a preferred payment method for Chinese nationals manufacturing fentanyl in Mexico, according to the WSJ. 

The cryptocurrency has several features that make tracing its payments more difficult for authorities. 

The stablecoin has been known to help fentanyl and human traffickers gain access to untraditional payment methods, Hild said 

'We are shining a light on Tether for their suspicious business practices, including a decade long refusal to perform an audit and the routine use of the product by terrorists and traffickers of drugs and humans,' Hild said. 

'Given these warning signs, we fear that that Tether may very well be the next FTX.'

'Consumers should be weary of any so-called stablecoin that refuses to properly certify that they actually hold the assets they claim.'

The Consumers' Research TV ad buys will play in Washington, D.C. and New York. The firm will also display anti-Tether ads in New York's Times Square. 

Brock Pierce, 43, is a former child actor who starred in the Mighty Ducks movies before he reinvented himself as a cryptocurrency cult leader. In 2014, he invented the very controversial Tether coin, which experts fear could collapse the digital currency system, he says he has not been affiliated with the company since 2015

Tether co-founder and former Disney actor and child star Brock Pierce