Bitcoin trading platform Bitfinex announces the availability of Tether, a token backed 1-to-1 by its corresponding fiat currency withdrawal and deposit method, for verified users.

Tether's integration with Bitfinex enables verified users of the trading platform to fund accounts and withdraw US dollar balances directly and securely without using traditional financial institutions, stated Tether in the release.

The Tether funding option is available on both the withdrawal and the deposit pages, along with existing methods, including crypto-currencies and wire transfer.

"We see Tether as a significant optimization for the problems that plague Bitcoin traders and exchanges when interfacing with the traditional banking system," said a spokesperson from Bitfinex, adding:

"We proudly support Tether and encourage other exchanges, OTC traders, and arbitrageurs to also use Tether. We believe that widespread adoption of a secure Blockchain-compatible 'crypto-dollar' will lead to better price discovery, market transparency and liquidity."

Commenting on the integration with Bitfinex, co-founder and CEO at Tether, Reeve Collins, stated:

"This integration with Bitfinex is the first step into a world where traditional currencies move like bitcoins. Dollars have now inherited the portability benefits of cryptocurrency."

Tether is a crypto 2.0 project that uses tokens to move currencies over the blockchain. The platform is currently in private beta, and as of today, its offerings include USTether (US+), EuroTether (EU+) and YenTether (JP+). Tether is said to be 100% backed by actual assets in its reserve account, which can be viewed and verified in real-time via Tether.to, and on the Blockchain.

"We built Tether as a non-competitive technology platform to enhance the features of all Blockchain companies by focusing on one premise: to provide access to fiat currency on the Blockchain," explained co-founder and CTO at Tether, Craig Sellars. "A simple integration with Tether enables a new foundational layer on Bitcoin and offers a powerful utility for everyone in the ecosystem," he continued.

Formerly Realcoin, the Isle of Man and Hong Kong-based company rebranded as Tether in late November 2014, to avoid altcoin association.

The company was founded by Collins, Sellars, and Brock Pierce, a digital currency entrepreneur who claims to have raised over US$200m on behalf of his companies. Pierce co-founded Tether, GoCoin, ExpressCoin, KnCMiner.cn, Robocoin Asia, and CoinDaily, and currently sits on the boards of IMI Exchange, Xfire, Playsino, FGL, Spicy Horse Games, GoCoin, ExpressCoin, KnCMiner.cn, Robocoin Asia, and the Mastercoin Foundation.

In May 2014, Pierce received much criticism from the Bitcoin community following his election to the position of director at the Bitcoin Foundation due to a series of accusations made against him back in 2000.

In an open letter, Pierce broke silence and show determination in pursuing his role at the Bitcoin Foundation. "Bitcoin is controversial in some quarters," he wrote, "That’s why I believe we need people on the board who are not afraid of being publicly attacked and who have no skeletons in their closets."

[Editor's note: The article originally stated that Brock Pierce was appointed to the position of director at the Bitcoin Foundation. He was actually elected. We apologize for the error.]

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