FT: Circle Previously Banned Tether-Supported Crypto Fund Heka Funds

According to the Financial Times, stablecoin issuer Circle banned crypto fund Heka Funds at the end of 2023. Court documents reveal that Circle accused Heka of leveraging large-scale arbitrage operations to buy discounted USDC and redeem cash from Circle during the 2023 Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) crisis, suspecting that the relevant funds ultimately flowed to Tether to help it expand its USDT market share. Arbitration documents disclosed that Tether had invested approximately $800 million in Heka, accounting for about 75% of the fund's assets, and waived its minting fees, but Heka did not disclose this support relationship to Circle. Heka previously filed for arbitration claiming approximately $49 million in lost profits due to the account ban, but the arbitrator rejected all its claims in February this year, determined that Heka engaged in bad faith conduct, and ordered it to pay Circle approximately $166,000 in attorney and expert fees. Heka denied engaging in market manipulation and stated it was not under regulatory investigation.