Tether (USDT)
Tether (the coin) is created by Tether (the company), which seems to possibly be owned by the same entities that own Bitfinex (the exchange). Tether is allegedly a surrogate for actual US fiat dollars. The Tether "virtual US dollar" is used on some crypto exchanges as a trading pair, and the Tether corporation has taken steps to control the price of this cryptocurrency so that it remains stable at approximately one US dollar at all times. Tether (the company) states that all Tethers in circulation are backed by real US dollars in its hidden bank accounts, but does not guarantee that virtual Tethers can be traded for real US fiat dollars.
Mining/Staking
There are no consensus mechanisms for this virtual currency. The Tether corporation prints Tethers out of thin air, as needed, seemingly on a whim. Nobody else has the ability to create new Tethers.
Development Team
Ownership of the Tether corporation is a mystery. As a corporation, its place of registration has changed a few times, and nobody seems to know much about it.
Criticisms, Caveats, and Competitors
There is widespread criticism of Tether, which may or may not be justified. Certainly, it would be reassuring to the markets if Tether's fiat backstop holdings could be audited, but the company has thus far resisted all efforts in that respect. The US government is probably not very pleased with any virtual currency that is designed to act as a surrogate for their own dollars. However, it is a valid argument that having Tether available on exchanges certainly facilitates some aspects of crypto trading. Regardless of that argument, it would be better if exchanges offered real US dollars as a trading pair, rather than virtual substitutes. Investors need to be very careful. Some exchanges show that they offer USD balances, but actually only offer USDT. It is usually one or the other. We are not aware of any exchanges that offer both USDT and fiat USD on the same exchange. Gateway fiat exchanges don't touch Tether. Tethers cannot be moved off of virtual exchanges. Many people recommend that crypto investors should never hold Tethers in their exchange accounts.
Additional Resources
The project's main website: https://tether.to
Link to Wikipedia Page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)
Link to Reddit Community: https://www.reddit.com/r/Tether
Link to Twitter account: https://twitter.com/Tether_to
Link to Team information: N/A
Link to data on Live Coin Watch: not currently listed
Whitepaper: http://www.the-blockchain.com/docs/Tether%20Whitepaper.pdf
More Articles & Links relating to Tether:
Gossip about Tether "Scandal" on Bitfinex, Is It Legitimate?
https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/6yqeqv/the_truth_about_bitfinex_and_tether