If there is one cryptocurrency that has faced its fair share of criticism and controversy, it is Tether. The stablecoin however, has attracted an unlikely ally in the form of Gabor Gurbacs, who has tweeted his support for the Bitfinex-built coin.

Gurbacs is is a digital assets strategist and director at Van Eck, a large investment management firm that is known in the cryptocurrency spheres for its attempts to launch a Bitcoin ETF. He has stated that he is tired of people discrediting Tether, even though the stablecoin is under another cloud.

Just prior to this tweet, a New York-based legal firm has filed a lawsuit to the tune of 1.4 trillion dollars against Tether and Bitfinex, accusing them of cryptocurrency market manipulation. Still, despite this, the director of the firm that recently pulled its ETF application from the SEC has called for an end to the “witch-hunt.”

“I am tired of hoodwink academics, hype-media and uninformed lawyers discrediting the hard work & structural innovation that Tether and Bitfinex built. They built services for #bitcoin & #crypto companies that others failed to provide. Stop the witch-hunt; protect innovation!” he tweeted.

The attacks on Tether have been numerous, and for the most point, accurate. The company maintained for as long as they could that each digital token was backed 1:1 with a US dollar, but this has now been disproven and admitted by Tether.

In fact, William Quigley, the co-founder of Tether, has said that it does not really matter if the stablecoin is backed exactly. Perhaps Gurbacs is of the same opinion, as he goes on to list why he believes the stablecoin deserves such credit.

“Thoughts on why Tether is structural innovation:

> Upgrades USD transfer speed & access

> Crypto & crypto exchange native

> Deployed on multiple blockchains

> Compatible with banks & backed by banks

> First & largest stablecoin with billions in assets

> Free market adopted it,” he replied to a question on the tweet thread.

Many have been left perplexed as to why someone of this stature, in the traditional and cryptocurrency game, would find it necessary to defend a company like Tether. Van Eck, which many felt had the best shot at breaching the barrier between institutional and crypto investing through its ETF application, has since gone a different route.

Now, Van Eck is offering a limited Bitcoin ETF in order to try and bypass the SEC ruling over these cryptocurrency offerings for institutional investors. However, it is still clear from Gurbacs’ opinions that part of his praise rests with the fact that Tether has helped the adoption of cryptocurrency in the mainstream sense.