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Canada-Based Tahini's Restaurants Trades Entire Cash Reserves For Bitcoin

Tahini’s Restaurants recently tweeted that they have just converted their entire cash reserves into Bitcoin. The Middle Eastern restaurant has three outlets across Ontario and is commonly referred to as “the best Middle Eastern Restaurant in the world.”

Bitcoin Flying High Under the Radar

The decision to convert its cash reserves into cryptocurrency originated from the March’s crash due to coronavirus pandemic. During that time, the Canadian government started offering assistance programs for businesses unable to stay open because of the pandemic.

The COVID-19 crisis brought most businesses to a standstill for the first half of the year. The food and hospitality industry was one of the worst-hit industries. Tahini’s was adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as it had to lay off a huge number of employees. The company is in its expansion phase, having plans to expand its three new franchise outlets in Ontario.

Since the laid-off employees were getting assistance from the government more than what the restaurant could pay, they did not turn up for work. The situations were conducive to the laid-off employees as the stimulus programs left them with a lot of money. The employees had enough money, a situation that Tahini’s owners say could make fiat money worthless if everyone has cash in abundance.

With Canada and the US printing money to save their economies from the coronavirus crisis, Omar Hamam, the owner of Tahini’s, began thinking that a significant currency devaluation would soon occur. An influx of cash is making its way into circulation due to the massive stimulus payment given to offset the coronavirus economic shutdown.

Hamam said that the decision to embrace Bitcoin is based on a popular perception that the leading cryptocurrency is widely seen as a safe-haven asset. Just like other smart money investors and businesses, Tahini’s sees Bitcoin as a suitable hedge against the debasement (devaluation) of fiat currencies that is likely to follow as Fed and other central banks across the world are increasing fiat money supplies at an unprecedented rate.

The restaurant owners endorsed Bitcoin as a better alternative to cash savings and plan to continue switching all of its excess cash into Bitcoin. The company embraced cryptocurrency and swapped all of its cash savings into Bitcoin, by coming across various cryptocurrency platforms and influencers, including Raoul Pal, Jeff Booth, Saifedean Ammous, Robert Breedlove, Preston Pysh, and cofounder of Morgan Creek and poplar crypto personality, Anthony Pompliano.

In a long thread, the restaurant chain tagged platforms and influencers that helped them along their journey of embracing the crypto industry and thanked all of them.

Tahini’s seems to follow the same financial planning strategy as listed business intelligence company MicroStrategy, who announced last week that it adopted Bitcoin as its primary reserve asset. MicroStrategy bought 21,454 BTC worth of $250 million. The $1.2 billion company revealed that it now holds Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset instead of cash.

Bitcoin Adoption Rate on The Rise

The adoption of Bitcoin cryptocurrency continues increasing alongside the demand for this finite digital asset among businesses. As the crypto industry continues maturing, several businesses and traders across the globe are turning to embrace Bitcoin as a safe haven against inflation. Within this month, two popular companies (i.e., MicroStrategy Inc., and Tahinis Restaurants) have announced swapping their cash reserves to cryptocurrency. Not only businesses but also general consumers are turning towards crypto assets to retain their wealth. Particularly, developing countries are the most inclined towards cryptocurrency adoption.

Circle's USDC Reserves Remain Stuck at SVB, Raises Concerns Over Crypto Stability

Circle is one of the leading issuers of USDC, and the company has been on a mission to make it the preferred stablecoin in the cryptocurrency space. However, recent developments have raised concerns over the stability of USDC and its issuers.

On March 10, Circle confirmed that $3.3 billion of its $40 billion USDC reserves held at Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) have not been processed, despite wires being initiated on Thursday to remove the balances. This has raised concerns over the stability of USDC and its issuers, as investors worry about the possibility of a sudden loss of value.

This development follows Circle’s disclosure in its latest audit that as of January 31, $8.6 billion, or roughly 20% of its reserves, was held in several financial institutions, including the recently bankrupted Silvergate and the now-shuttered SVB. This has raised questions over Circle’s risk management practices and its ability to ensure the stability of USDC.

Circle has assured investors that it is working to resolve the issue with SVB and that it is confident in the stability and liquidity of USDC. However, the incident has once again highlighted the need for increased regulation and oversight of stablecoins and their issuers.

The cryptocurrency industry has long been resistant to regulation, viewing it as antithetical to the decentralized and open nature of cryptocurrencies. However, incidents like this one highlight the potential risks and vulnerabilities of the industry, and the need for regulatory frameworks that can protect investors and ensure the stability of cryptocurrencies.

The stability of stablecoins like USDC is crucial to the development and adoption of cryptocurrencies, as they provide a less volatile alternative to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. However, incidents like this one raise questions about the reliability of stablecoins and their issuers, and highlight the need for greater transparency and oversight in the industry.

TrueUSD Depegging Linked to Binance Launchpool Activities

On January 18, 2024, TrueUSD (TUSD) blames Binance Launchpool mining activities for the depegging on X. It says,

Regular attestations are ongoing as part of our standard operations, and any claims suggesting otherwise are incorrect. We have observed recent community mining activities associated with Binance Launchpool, which have led to short-term arbitrage opportunities.

The recent depegging of TrueUSD (TUSD) has garnered significant attention in the cryptocurrency community. This event was closely associated with the activities on Binance Launchpool and resulted in TUSD’s value dropping below its $1 peg, reaching as low as $0.97.

On January 15, 2024, a substantial sell-off of TUSD was observed on the cryptocurrency exchange Binance, leading to a notable depegging from the US dollar. Over a 24-hour period, traders sold more than $339.2 million worth of TUSD, compared to $296.8 million in buy orders, resulting in a net outflow of $42.3 million from the exchange.

The situation was exacerbated when TrueUSD experienced issues with real-time attestations of its reserves around January 10, raising concerns about the stablecoin possibly being undercollateralized. These technical difficulties, identified in the API, prevented the provision of accurate U.S. dollar values to its collateral assets. Additionally, on Poloniex, a cryptocurrency exchange, TUSD had been trading at about 8% below its peg for several weeks, while maintaining a relatively steady price around $0.99 on Binance.

Addressing the depegging, the TrueUSD team linked the incident to activities associated with Binance Launchpool. They observed recent community mining activities that led to short-term arbitrage opportunities. Despite concerns, TrueUSD reassured users about the normality of such market dynamics and liquidity adjustments. They emphasized the smooth operation of their redemption channels and the ongoing functionality of TUSD minting and redemption services.

This incident of depegging raises broader questions about the stability and transparency of stablecoins in the crypto market. In June 2023, TrueUSD had temporarily halted its automated attestations due to balance discrepancies. The stablecoin issuer later announced an upgrade in their fiat reserve audit and attestation system in partnership with accounting firm MooreHK. TrueUSD stated that their total assets held in reserve accounts amounted to $1.93 billion.

The recent decline in TUSD’s value coincided with the introduction of a rival stablecoin, FDUSD, into Binance’s staking program. Market analysts speculate that a significant number of investors sold TUSD for FDUSD to participate in Binance’s rewards programs, potentially contributing to TUSD’s de-pegging.

TrueUSD’s depegging highlights the fragility of stablecoins in volatile market conditions and the need for robust mechanisms to maintain pegs to underlying assets. It also underscores the importance of transparency and trust in the management of stablecoin reserves, which are crucial for maintaining investor confidence and the overall stability of the crypto market.

Tether's Financial Triumph: Record $2.85B Q4 Profit and Strategic Asset Growth

During the fourth quarter of 2023, Tether Holdings Limited achieved a record-breaking level of profitability, generating a net profit of $2.85 billion. This result may mostly be attributable to operational income of one billion dollars from US Treasuries, as well as gains from gold and Bitcoin reserves. Additionally, the firm made a strategic investment of $640 million in projects such as mining, artificial intelligence infrastructure, and peer-to-peer telecommunications, which resulted in a large rise in the company’s surplus reserves, which reached $5.4 billion.

The certification that Tether received from BDO, an internationally known auditing firm, demonstrates the company’s dedication to maintaining financial stability and upholding transparency. BDO affirmed that the company’s reserves are sufficient to repay all outstanding secured loans in full. It was in reaction to the concerns of the community over portfolio risks that this step was made. The total assets that were under the control of Tether topped $97 billion, with a significant percentage of those assets being invested in venture capital, Bitcoin, precious metals, and United States Treasuries.

In the year 2023, Tether was able to produce a total net profit of $6.2 billion, with $4 billion coming from assets that were not related to cryptocurrency. These investments included US Treasury bonds. Tether is positioned as a solid and reputable organization within the cryptocurrency market as a result of this, which highlights the broad and strong financial approach that the company employs.

Paolo Ardoino, the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, stressed the company’s commitment to liquidity and stability, underlining the strategic relevance of keeping a high proportion of reserves, which are comprised of cash and cash equivalents. Tether’s operational success in 2023, which included the onboarding of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation for cooperation on monitoring and restraining unlawful activity, illustrates the company’s pioneering position in establishing a financial environment that is both safe and inclusive.

Tether’s extensive financial and operational strategy may be examined via their most recent assurance opinion and the Consolidated Reserves Report. These documents demonstrate the company’s dedication to openness and prudent management in the rapidly changing world of the digital currency industry.