“Tether printing moves the market appreciably,” concluded the report, which compared bitcoin price movements before and after new tether issuance, as well as analysing publicly available tether transaction statistics using forensic accounting techniques.
“48.8 per cent of BTC’s price rise in the period studied occurred in the two-hour periods following the arrival of 91 different tether grants to the Bitfinex wallet,” the report said.
“Bitfinex withdrawal/deposit statistics are unusual and would give rise to further scrutiny in a typical accounting environment. If there is questionable activity, the author believes a 30-80 per cent reduction in BTC price could be forecast.”