@figmentofmyass. This goes back to my argument about money launderers who might be using the cryptospace to run a global money laundering ring. Who would support Tether again for the stablecoin to continue going?
people who are already exposed to tether risk worth many millions of dollars. they know they will suffer from any crisis of confidence in tether or bitfinex. they also know the token sale news provided relief to the market.
if i had millions in USDT, i would have given bitfinex a soft pledge worth all my USDT too. but i wouldn't follow through on it. bitfinex is now trading persistently below the rest of the market, probably due to lack of fiat inputs (vs legit exchanges like coinbase or bitstamp). so i'd be slowly sending my USDT to bitfinex right now and buying my way out.
anyway, i think there's a few different things going on:
1. there's a contingent of USDT holders who will pledge to buy into the token sale but will later renege. they are using the token sale as cover while they silently exit USDT while it's still trading near parity.
2. there's another contingent who is deeply exposed to tether risk (holding 8 figures + of USDT) who can't exit to other currencies due to lack of liquidity and are therefore now "holding the bag". they can help ensure USDT keeps trading at 1:1 by bailing out tether and reducing their exposure over time.
3. there's yet another contingent who may be speculating that the LEO token will pump a lot since it's modeled after BNB. by buying at 1:1 to USDT, they expect to profit.