Is BitFUnix and the Tether dollar USDT about to crash the Bitcoin market?

[AngryDwarf]

If anything, USDT is the scam coin which will ultimately collapse. The Bank of England could not prevent George Soros from making a one way bet against the British Pound whilst in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. USDT is not backed by a central bank AFAIK, so eventually someone won't be able to prop up its value if the market decides to bet against it. Pegged crypto's rely on the belief of stupidity, better to own the fiat instead.

[monsanto]

Is BitFUnix and the Tether dollar USDT about to crash the Bitcoin market?

Ironically the worse the future looks for Tether the higher the price of bitcoin goes on bitfinex, as users scramble for the exits. It's almost like someone planned this 

[Instamined]

I think the doom rumors for USDT are played up beyond the reality.

There would be severe negative consequences for the operators of the USDT service regardless of any disclaimer if they somehow defaulted.

I could be wrong, but I don't see it. For every usdt to usd transaction they do they charge $20 or .001% whichever is higher.

It's not a huge profit but it's nearly free money and it allows some exchanges to get around certain legal complications with trading USD.


Who knows? There is obviously going to be a psychological effect seeing the price spread between usdt and usd on bitfinex but so-far I haven't heard anybody claiming that tether.to hasn't honored their USDT with a 1:1 withdraw parity.

Has anybody successfully converted USDT to USD?

[darlidada]

Tether supplied increased by 125% since early march. That must be how they paid back everyone and have managed to stay afloat despite the BTC withdrawals. Also, they have a history of trading on their own exchange, I'm sure they are naked long now.

I wonder how long this is gonna last.

chart here: http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

asset there:

http://omnichest.info/lookupsp.aspx?sp=31
http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

10M USD were created out of thin air 3 days ago

People buying it are litterally gifting btc to finex LOL

[GanjaFarmer23]

Tether supplied increased by 125% since early march. That must be how they paid back everyone and have managed to stay afloat despite the BTC withdrawals. Also, they have a history of trading on their own exchange, I'm sure they are naked long now.

I would be long too if i had the firepower of finex and 34k BTC shorts to eat. As long as this is under wraps.

[monsanto]

Tether supplied increased by 125% since early march. That must be how they paid back everyone and have managed to stay afloat despite the BTC withdrawals. Also, they have a history of trading on their own exchange, I'm sure they are naked long now.

I wonder how long this is gonna last.

chart here: http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

asset there:

http://omnichest.info/lookupsp.aspx?sp=31
http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

10M USD were created out of thin air 3 days ago

People buying it are litterally gifting btc to finex LOL

Hmmm... I gotta admit the timing of the token buy back is very fishy. If they wanted to buy back with imaginary tether usd a good time would be right before all the usd gets trapped inside the exchange (IIRC the token buy back happened days before the fiat stoppage).

The thing is the balance of their btc wallet was up about the same percentage since early march. So they might have just issued more tether usd because of the overall crypto bull run since then.

https://blockchain.info/charts/balance?address=3D2oetdNuZUqQHPJmcMDDHYoqkyNVsFk9r&timespan=60days

[miscreanity]

Because Bitfinex is making news that they can pay back the former thefts which no one thought to be mathematically possible, so it means that Bitfinex is trying to raise confidence so more people will put their money there, so it indicates they need money. It also indicates they stole the money from Peter to pay Paul. The likely source of the money is perhaps coming from printing USDT out-of-thin-air.

The conversion of BFX tokens to shares of Bitfinex completed and was the catalyst for full token redemption on the exchange. Interestingly, the amount of capital raised is 54513657[1]. This number is quite close to the total authorized line and, since Bitfinex is associated, I have to wonder whether there's any connection.

I've been opposed to the idea of a pegged unit well before Coinapult had its "locks" and still view such a system with suspicion for anything beyond very short-term utilization.

[1] https://bnktothefuture.com/search/pitches

Is your thought process including the possibility that USDT was issued surreptitiously by paying USD to themselves, then traded to repurchase the BFX tokens which were subsequently redeemed for equity in Ifinex? With the final redemption of remaining BFX tokens by paying themselves.

While it is true Ifinex is the parent company of Bitfinex, they are also a subsidiary of another company. DigIfinex is the name of this conglomerate, which has relations with RenRenbee Limited, Tether Holdings Limited, and various other Bitcoin corporations. No big surprises there, although it makes one wonder how useful ownership in Ifinex will be in the long run.


(chart of alleged corporate structure)

So a possible scenario which could explain recent events is Bitfinex pretending to be blocked from sending USD so as to force those who want to trade BTC to USD to either trade for USDT or move BTC to an exchange which can do USD withdrawals. So if exchanges have fractional reserves of BTC, then Bitfinex for example could be employing the hypothesized USDT hoard to purchase BTC to maintain sufficient reserves for increased (possibly accelerating) BTC withdrawals. The rapidly accelerating BTC price over the past days concomitant with the widening USD/USDT spread could potentially be explained this way, combined with specifically timed miner manipulation of the public confidence leading to wild price swings. OKCoin blocked USD deposits, which could potentially have the motive of increasing perceived legitimacy of Bitfinex's claim, and more plausibly to block Bitfinex withdrawals in BTC from being exchanged for USD on OKCoin (since no new USD can enter to offer on bid) thus to keep more cows locked inside the hypothesized  USDT slaughterhouse of this hypothesized speculative explanation.

Knowing that Bitfinex is having trouble processing USD means that in order to leave the exchange, you must first buy a digital currency and move the money off. For most people, this is just easier than dealing with the current USD restrictions.

Although it's unlikely the bullish move is entirely due to users exiting the exchange, it likely plays a role and may partly explain why Bitfinex's price is so much higher than the other exchanges.

If Bitfinex and USDT default, would Poloniex also default? Thus far, the evidence presented by @tunctioncloud seems to suggest that Poloniex's exposure is small. But what if there is a generalized stampede of withdrawals from exchanges employing USDT as the only mechanism for trading BTCUSD pairs. Could there be a domino effect on Poloniex if Bitfinex defaults? I'm trading tokens on Poloniex so I am genuinely concerned. I'd appreciate all well reasoned discussion of this matter.

I cannot rule out suspect activity on the part of Bitfinex through use of USDT. There are questions about Poloniex as well, though again uncertain about the veracity. I do not think Poloniex would default and the relative holdings of USDT are minor compared to other coins, the exchange being primarily crypto-crypto and explicitly showing USDT as such whereas Bitfinex only displays it as USD.

Regardless, I am highly cautious at this point regarding having funds on exchanges. If Bitsquare had volume, I would certainly be using that instead of most others.

[york780]

Looks like there are even pages on twitter already called Bitfinex'ed inspite of Gox'ed. Seems that Tether is worth (manipulated) 0,93usd inspite of 1 usd. Crypto keeps being more and more fun. All eyes on LTC now. Rekaton will occur and history will be written by the victor once again.

[alyssa85]

It might. The amazing thing is how much volume of trading is still being done on Bitfinex:

https://coinmarketcap.com/exchanges/volume/24-hour/

It's the second biggest exchange. If people could shift their volume to other more stable exchanges, then if bitfinex goes kaput it won't really matter.

[BartS]

my understanding is that you have joined the FUD team against bitcoin. maybe a temporary phase but that is what's happening in my opinion.

bitcoin price is not gonna drop unless bitfinex runs away. which is not at all likely. if they wanted to run away they would have done it after the hack not now. not after they paid their users back.
even if they run away, it will be a short drop exactly like when their exchange platform was hacked and price dropped.

I don’ know, people that use FUD most of the time don’t bring too many arguments to the table and just keep repeating the same thing over and over like a mantra, any user reading the forums must be worried that Bitfinex close its doors or scams its users since that mens the price is going to get lower it is as simple as that.

[Johanne_Trader]

Famous last words. How can you know what Bitfinex is doing? How can you know what the true reserves of Tether's USDT really are?

How can you know what is bitstamp doing?
How about Kraken?
How about the biggest altcoin exchange out there, Poloniex?

Did you not click the links in the OP about the recent news stories?

I am well aware of the news, their bank, the withdrawal, ... that is why I said what I said.

The risks, that you are raising today is a drama and nothing more. because nothing has changed in the past 6 or so years with bitcoin exchanges. they are still the same shady businesses that can run away at any moment.

the question is why spread the drama now?

Because people absolutely love drama : before some lunatics kept on predicting the end of the world as a punishment from God. And then, now that doesn't make any sense, they go for imminent market crashes, etc.   lol! Really...

[wgd]

Bitcoin price is falling heavily, and what? We have another reprint, 20m usdt goes to market ...  

http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

[Samarkand]

Bitcoin price is falling heavily, and what? We have another reprint, 20m usdt goes to market ...  

http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

Is there any way to check, if the Tether already ended up on the Bitfinex lending market or the Bitfinex order book?
Additionally, I´m surprised that USD/BTC at Bitfinex is trading more than 80 $ lower than USD/BTC at Bitstamp.
Could this be an indication that most of the selling today has taken place at Bitfinex? Or what has caused
this difference and why hasn´t it been "corrected" due to people taking advantage of the arbitrage opportunity?

Something seems very off to me and the Tether issuance today only intensifies my doubts!

[wgd]

The tethers are probably uncovered true usd, many people already see that bitcoin was inflated with fictitious money

http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

next 25mln usdt on board

[Samarkand]

The tethers are probably uncovered true usd, many people already see that bitcoin was inflated with fictitious money

http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

next 25mln usdt on board

According to the official Tether "transparency" website the total amount of issued USDT has reached a
staggering 364 million $.

https://wallet.tether.to/transparency

How long can this behavior continue? What would be the level of Bitcoin price without these
fake money being funneled into the market at critical times? Is there a remote possibility that these
newly issued USDT are actually backed by real money by institutional investors?

[wgd]

The tethers are probably uncovered true usd, many people already see that bitcoin was inflated with fictitious money

http://omnichest.info/lookupadd.aspx?address=3MbYQMMmSkC3AgWkj9FMo5LsPTW1zBTwXL

next 25mln usdt on board

According to the official Tether "transparency" website the total amount of issued USDT has reached a
staggering 364 million $.

https://wallet.tether.to/transparency

How long can this behavior continue? What would be the level of Bitcoin price without these
fake money being funneled into the market at critical times? Is there a remote possibility that these
newly issued USDT are actually backed by real money by institutional investors?

https://medium.com/@bitfinexed/are-fraudulent-tethers-being-used-for-margin-lending-on-bitfinex-5de9dd80f330

until the USA turn off bitfinex light 

[Samarkand]

...

https://medium.com/@bitfinexed/are-fraudulent-tethers-being-used-for-margin-lending-on-bitfinex-5de9dd80f330

until the USA turn off bitfinex light 

Why would they have any interest in doing this? As far as I know, BTC-E was shut down by US agencies, because of the heavy involvement
of the exchange in money laundering (e.g. of ransomware proceeds) and other criminal activities.
However, Bitfinex doesn´t seem to be involved in this and therefore I think that the USA are not even investigating them.
Bitfinex may have lost their banking partners due to the USA and their regulations, but I really don´t see an exchange shutdown.

Bitfinex operates out ot Hong Kong and accordingly I´d expect the local authorities to lead the crack down. If I remember correctly,
Mtgox was also closed by the local Japanese authorities and not by US agencies.

[sangwookie]

Well shit. This happened 2 morning months ago and nothing happens so it looks like all is well. Even with the NYT story breaking the market is unaffected.

[Wind_FURY]

Where is iamnotback these days? I thought he was another doomsday crackpot who loves spreading FUD in the forum. But in truth some of his thoughts and "theories" have been right.

Does anyone know if he has a blog or a website?

[Herbert2020]

Well shit. This happened 2 morning months ago and nothing happens so it looks like all is well. Even with the NYT story breaking the market is unaffected.

the only reason why this topic was created by OP (who is permabanned for spamming but still has alt accounts and spams same bullshit) is because at the time he was trying to short bitcoin and he was losing money as bitcoin price kept going higher. soon after this topic was created price went up another 30% and in a month $2000 was broken. and the rest is history. and all the while OP was saying bitcoin will crash down to $600 again

in the end even if tether collapses, bitcoin won't be harmed. maybe 2 weeks to 1 month of downtime with a 20% drop tops happens but that won't be because of USDT, it will be because of FUD and since bitcoin price is not sustained by USDT but with USD, JPY, CNY, RUR, EUR, GBP and those are not collapsing the price of bitcoin will continue on its way.

Where is iamnotback these days? I thought he was another doomsday crackpot who loves spreading FUD in the forum. But in truth some of his thoughts and "theories" have been right.

Does anyone know if he has a blog or a website?

he is still around with different account names spreading the same FUD as ever
he is like an intense version of kwukduck
here is one of his many alts: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=1112762