Opinion: Tether and USDC reserve structures are more similar to high-risk hedge funds

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ME News Report, May 20 (UTC+8), Germany's major asset management company Union Investment's head of digital assets and tokenization, Christoph Hock, stated at the London Digital Money Summit 2026 that USDT and USDC are not truly "stablecoins" in the strict sense, and their reserve structures are more akin to high-risk hedge funds. Hock pointed out that Tether holds large amounts of gold and Bitcoin assets in its reserves, making it not purely low-risk cash equivalents linked to the US dollar. He believes this structure could transmit market volatility risks to corporate finances and institutional investors. He specifically mentioned that USDC experienced a 13% de-pegging event in the past, and said that for corporate finance departments and asset management institutions relying on stablecoins for overnight cash settlements, such price fluctuations pose "catastrophic risks." Hock stated that institutional investors cannot tolerate significant market value losses in cash positions over short periods and criticized some current stablecoins for deviating from their original purpose of being "fiat-pegged digital cash." Data shows that as of January 2026, Tether's gold reserves totaled approximately 148 tons, worth about $23 billion, surpassing the gold reserves of some sovereign countries. As European regulators continue to strengthen scrutiny of unlicensed stablecoins, transparency of stablecoin reserves and liquidity risks are becoming key concerns for traditional financial institutions. (Source: BlockBeats)
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