Tether (USDT) News Today

Tether minted one billion USDT, boosting its market cap by over two billion dollars in a week, reflecting rising demand for stablecoins.

Rhea Finance suffered an oracle manipulation attack on the NEAR Protocol, with losses reaching $18.4 million—double the initial estimate. The attacker manipulated the pricing of a fake token, causing collateral valuations to be incorrect. Tether froze about $4.34 million in USDT; the attacker returned roughly $3.5 million. To date, more than $7.8 million has been recovered, highlighting the importance of oracle security.

Tether froze $3.29 million in USDT linked to Rhea Finance exploit, ensuring user protection and ecosystem trust. Blockchain tracking enabled this action against suspicious wallets after attackers moved funds to evade detection.

Drift Protocol faced a $280 million loss due to a hack, prompting Tether to launch a $150 million recovery plan, switching settlement assets to USDT. Meanwhile, Circle faces a lawsuit for failing to freeze stolen funds, highlighting regulatory ambiguities in the crypto industry.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson urged U.S. authorities to draw up contingency plans to address a potential collapse in demand for U.S. national debt when he was interviewed by Bloomberg on April 17, 2026 (Thursday). He said that once a crisis erupts, the consequences would be extremely severe. On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury completed the largest debt buyback in a single transaction in history, accepting approximately $15 billion in old bonds maturing from 2026 to 2028.

Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralized derivatives exchange, plans to relaunch as a USDT-based perpetual futures exchange after a $270 million exploit, securing up to $147.5 million in funding from Tether and partners for recovery and operations.

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced the freezing of 3.29 million USDT connected to a hacker linked to Rhea Finance's $7.6 million theft due to a fake token contract attack.

Drift Protocol announced a recovery plan backed by $150 million after a $280 million exploit, transitioning from USDC to USDT, impacting 128,000 users. The plan links user balance restoration to ongoing trading, following criticism of Circle's response to the hack.

Gate News message. According to a blog report, Drift Protocol has received up to $127.5 million from Tether for user recovery.

Gate News message, Tether purchased 951.35 BTC valued at $70.47 million from a centralized exchange. Following this transaction, Tether's total Bitcoin holdings have reached 97,204 BTC, valued at approximately $7.28 billion.

Tether invested $134 million in Stablecoin Development Corporation (SDEV), acquiring influence in Sky Protocol governance. The funds aim to enhance stablecoin infrastructure, signaling Tether's broader investment strategy beyond USDT.

Fellowship PAC recently revealed in accordance with FEC filing documents that it has raised $11 million, including $10 million from Cantor Fitzgerald and $1 million from Anchorage Digital. The PAC focuses on supporting Republican candidates and has spent $3 million on advertising for Nxum Group. When the organization was established, it claimed to have $100 million in funding commitments, but its actual amount raised is currently only $11 million.

Bitcoin continues to rise, reaching $74,630. Tether uses its profits to buy 951 bitcoins. Virginia passes an unclaimed property law, requiring idle cryptocurrency to be transferred to the state government. U.S. stocks are driven by tech stocks, and the S&P 500 index hits a new high. Crypto market dynamics show that investors are paying attention to geopolitical conditions and U.S. monetary policy.

Tether has transferred 951 BTC valued at approximately $70 million to its Bitcoin reserve, increasing its total holdings to 97,141 BTC worth about $7.16 billion. This move aligns with Tether's strategy of investing 15% of operating profits into Bitcoin.

Cantor Fitzgerald donated $10 million to Fellowship PAC in January to support pro-cryptocurrency candidates, as revealed in recent Federal Election Commission filings. Jesse Spiro, from Tether, chairs the committee.

Tether confirmed its participation in a $134 million funding round for Stablecoin Development Corporation, aiming to provide investors exposure to the stablecoin market through key holdings in SKY and USDS. SDEV now holds around 2.15 billion SKY tokens.

Tether's BTC reserve address withdrew 951 BTC valued at $70.47 million, part of Q1 2026 purchases. It now holds 97,141 BTC worth around $7.2 billion, making it the fifth-largest BTC wallet with unrealized gains of $2.175 billion.