Journal article · 2020

Is Bitcoin Really Untethered?

John M. Griffin, Amin Shams · The Journal of Finance, Vol. 75(4) · Wiley

⚠ The summary and findings below are the editor's working notes, pending verification against the source.

A high-profile empirical study associating Tether (USDT) issuance with support of Bitcoin prices during the 2017 run-up.

Read the source ↗ · DOI

Research questionWas Tether issuance used to support or manipulate cryptocurrency prices?

MethodologyEmpirical analysis of blockchain flows and price movements (2017 sample)

Data / sampleOn-chain Tether flows and Bitcoin/crypto prices, 2017

Constructsstablecoin issuance; reserve backing; price support / manipulation

Key findings

Finds patterns consistent with Tether being issued and used to support Bitcoin prices during downturns in 2017.
Raises questions about whether issuance was fully backed by reserves.
Became foundational to concerns about stablecoin reserve transparency and market impact.

Limitations: Focused on a single 2017 episode; associational evidence, contested by the issuer.

Topics: Market Structure & Adoption · Peg Stability & Runs

Cite this

John M. Griffin, Amin Shams (2020). Is Bitcoin Really Untethered? The Journal of Finance, Vol. 75(4).

BibTeX

@article{griffin2020isbitcoinuntethered,
  title = {Is Bitcoin Really Untethered?},
  author = {John M. Griffin and Amin Shams},
  year = {2020},
  institution = {Wiley},
  journal = {The Journal of Finance, Vol. 75(4)},
  doi = {10.1111/jofi.12903},
  url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jofi.12903},
  note = {Indexed by Stablecoin Beat},
}

Indexed by Stablecoin Beat — we link to and summarise sources; we do not host copyrighted full text, and summaries are our own. · All research · Methodology