The last few months, especially following the FTX collapse, have been rough for <a href="https://ambcrypto.com/can-usdt-retain-its-stablecoin-crown-these-recent-developments-suggest/">USDT</a> as the currency has been the target of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) stated in its Dec. 13 court filing against FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried that digital assets like Bitcoin(BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Tether (USDT) are commodities.

In a Dec. 13 post, the stablecoin issuer addressed recent mainstream media FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) concerning its secured loans, among other FUD which have hit the "rumour mill." Tether reiterated that its secured loans are over-collateralized and covered by “extremely liquid assets,” while also adding that the firm would be eliminating these loans throughout 2023, stating: Tether is announcing starting from now, throughout 2023, it will reduce secured loans in Tether’s reserves to zero. (Cointelegraph)

WSJ reported that the company held $6.1 billion of the loans in its balance sheet.

Tether intends to remove all secured loans from its backing in 2023 after The Wall Street Journal said that the stablecoin operator's increasing roster of loans might make it unable to pay back redemptions in the event of a crisis.

Tether (<a href="https://cryptoslate.com/coins/tether/">USDT</a>) said it would remove its secured loans in its reserves by 2023, according to a Dec. 13 blog <a href="https://tether.to/en/tether-addresses-fud-around-secured-loans-reveals-plans-to-reduce-these-to-zero-in-2023/">post</a>.

Tether announced that it's assisting crypto exchange Binance with a “chain swap,” which involves converting 3 billion USDT to the Ethereum network from the Tron network.&nbsp;

Tether executives and Binance CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao worried that Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF)was attempting to destabilize the crypto market aiming to save FTX.

The question for you: What are the risk factors that make you stay away from a crypto investment? Is it an anonymous founder? A sketchy business model? Forked code?

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has deflected a lot of the allegations leveled at him since his resignation, but today pointedly said he did not target Terra or Tether’s stablecoins.