NY Supreme Court grants preliminary injunction against Bitfinex and Tether
A New York Supreme Court judge grants a preliminary injunction against Bitfinex and Tether, impacting operations and signaling regulatory scrutiny.
On May 6, 2019, Justice Joel M. Cohen of the New York Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction against iFinex, the parent company of Bitfinex and Tether, in response to investigations by the New York Attorney General’s office. The injunction restricted certain financial transactions and compelled additional transparency regarding reserves backing Tether's USDT stablecoin.
Legal filings revealed that Tether was only partially backed by cash and cash equivalents, increasing scrutiny of the stablecoin's operational integrity. This injunction and the associated reporting requirements made headlines in mainstream financial media including The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg, creating significant market attention and a temporary impact on Bitcoin trading volumes.The ruling highlighted the growing influence of regulatory oversight in the cryptocurrency market and reinforced the need for clear operational compliance for exchanges and stablecoin issuers.