Tether (shortened USDT) is a cryptocurrency whose coins in circulation are backed by an equivalent amount of traditional fiat currencies, like the dollar, the euro, or the Japanese yen. The Tether project was founded in 2015 and it's run by two companies: Tether Ltd., which issues crypto coins with a value tied to traditional currencies; and Bitfinex, one of the world's largest cryptocurrency exchanges. Bitfinex provides liquidity to Tether solely because they are responsible for processing orders from customers converting their fiat currencies into tether tokens which are segregated as assets by the company’s directors securely eliminating any single point of failure. The goal is to create a cryptocurrency with price stability and transaction speed similar to that of traditional currencies without many of their limitations or disadvantages such as being subject to currency controls, unlike Bitcoin. Tether has faced some criticism because it does not provide transparency on how much US dollars it holds in its reserve account and is connected with Bitfinex because they are two separate companies who also benefit from the same risks of security breaches or other hacks that could cause a significant financial loss for both parties.