The largest stablecoin company lent $300 million to Titan Holdings in March 2025, part of the Master conglomerate, now involved in one of the largest financial frauds in Brazilian history. The loan was made by Tether Investments, Tether’s VC arm.
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Key Takeaways:
- Tether sued Titan Holding to recover a $300M loan after Daniel Vorcaro’s arrest and bank collapse.
- Galaxy’s Alex Thorn notes Tether is crypto’s top CeFi lender, with secured loans reaching $15.8B.
- Tether next seeks to freeze Titan’s assets, though the $300M default won’t affect $USDT’s backing.
Tether Introduces Lawsuit to Recover $300M Borrowed to Master Conglomerate
Tether has introduced a lawsuit in São Paulo to recover $300 million borrowed to Titan Holding, a company part of the Master conglomerate owned by Daniel Vorcaro.
Vorcaro, who was apprehended on Thursday, was also the owner of Banco Master, liquidated by the Central Bank of Brazil in November after a $2.2 billion hole in its reserves was detected.
According to local media, the loan was issued by Tether Investments one year ago, before the Master conglomerate scandal exploded, affecting over 1 million customers. The loan was supposed to be repaid by March 28, 12 months after its issuance.
Nonetheless, until the time of writing, Tether has not received any repayment from Titan Holdings. In the lawsuit, Tether requests “the freezing of financial assets deposited in bank accounts, financial applications, investments, and any other financial assets held by the Defendants Titan, Master Holding, and Master Participações be ordered.”
Even so, Tether is now among a large number of creditors seeking restitution from the Master conglomerate, whose demise caused losses reaching into the tens of billions.
Tether clarified that this loan was not part of the funds backing $USDT’s issuance, as it is part of its loan portfolio.
The event draws attention to the pool of the company’s secured loans, which comprises 8.25% of its reserves, or about $15.8 billion. Tether alleges that these loans are “over collateralized by assets, subject to margin call and liquidation mechanisms designed to maintain collateral coverage,” in its quarterly attestations.
Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy, stated in December 2025 that Tether was “the largest centralized finance (CeFi) lender in crypto, with a loan book exceeding $14 billion,” framing these activities as part of a diversification strategy from the company’s U.S. Treasuries income.