Tether's market cap is huge! (usdt)

[DooMAD]

Tether to me seems to be the scam of the century. I believe there are way too many better stablecoins like Binance's USD (BUSD) to convert into, but as I can see that it can't be used on too many websites (especially on gambling and casino sites which are mainly targeted by USDT users as well as probably no direct purchases) is the reason here why tether has been a big hit.

It's not just Tether, though.  Any privately owned currency is problematic, since you have to trust the entity that claims they're holding the funds.  I'm staying away from all stablecoins that consist of tokens supposedly backed by private wealth.  They're all effectively IOUs.

[AndySt]

Tether to me seems to be the scam of the century. I believe there are way too many better stablecoins like Binance's USD (BUSD) to convert into, but as I can see that it can't be used on too many websites (especially on gambling and casino sites which are mainly targeted by USDT users as well as probably no direct purchases) is the reason here why tether has been a big hit.

It's not just Tether, though.  Any privately owned currency is problematic, since you have to trust the entity that claims they're holding the funds.  I'm staying away from all stablecoins that consist of tokens supposedly backed by private wealth.  They're all effectively IOUs.

Such tokens were created as a counterweight and at the same time a tool for interacting with classic cryptocurrencies, which, as is known, do not have any material, financial or other security in principle. Here, the level of security and the capital that stands behind the token comes to the fore. As for the capital security of commercial enterprises, scandals constantly occur in classical markets, and with such tokens, this can happen even more so, given the specifics of the cryptocurrency market with its multiple ups and downs.

[darewaller]

This is getting to that dangerous levels right now and people are not aware of it just yet. Realize that bitcoin is something decentralized and awesome, many other projects are as decentralized as bitcoin (with some centralized coins like XRP as well) but USDT is fully centralized, there is nothing that we can do to stop tether company stealing our money if they want to, we have no power over that, it is not different than fiat, instead of us government deciding what Is going to happen with USD we just shifted the power to a company and that is even more dangerous than a government.

The day USA government says that USDT is banned and illegal and they want to jail the owners (like they did to bitmex for example) we are done, screwed, a big huge crash will happen. I think we should realize that we need to stop with all of this USDT hype very soon.

[Vishnu.Reang]

It's not just Tether, though.  Any privately owned currency is problematic, since you have to trust the entity that claims they're holding the funds.  I'm staying away from all stablecoins that consist of tokens supposedly backed by private wealth.  They're all effectively IOUs.

Tether was originally created for the purpose of trading and at least during the initial days cryptocurrency users hardly used USDT for anything apart from this purpose. But nowadays a lot of the users are holding their wealth in the form of stablecoins. The excuse being given is that cryptocurrency is too volatile to store, and therefore they want to store their wealth in a stable asset. IMO, this is just outright retarded move.

[rollingdice]

I use Tether as a crypto-fiat gate only, not for long term storage, so I don't worry about my USDT holdings, they are relatively small.

[Karartma1]

You're right. The team has not even disclosed its price to remain $1. Here are a few points to look at the other side:

• 20B circulation with nothing backed
• No proof of funds either
• Banking partner on the Bahamas
• Lawsuits are pending
• No physical operation location
• Without any regulation
• Prints n x USDT like feds

I am worried about my funds in USDT. I think I have to move to USDC or BUSD.

But still, people use it heavily which is visible in its daily trading volume. I think Moving to DAI, USDC or other stable coins will be great but exchanges need to provide trading pairs with those stable coins too. Most of the exchanges have USDT pairs for every coin but there is not much USDC or DAI pair. That is the reason many traders like me USDT in their daily trading and I do not trust USDT either.

How many people care about Tether's issuance and backing policy? No one cares, otherwise it wouldn't be so heavily used. It's just another way to avoid fiat and to stay in crypto, that's what it is.
If it will collapse, people will cry becuase they didn't know, but the bubble is there in plain sight.

[mindrust]

• Lawsuits are pending

Do you have any sources for this? I remember I read about it a little while ago but I forgot where it was. I wonder when will they place the bomb. I guess they wait for crypto to moon even higher before they act.

[Vishnu.Reang]

• Lawsuits are pending

Do you have any sources for this? I remember I read about it a little while ago but I forgot where it was. I wonder when will they place the bomb. I guess they wait for crypto to moon even higher before they act.

He's probably talking about this one:

https://www.coindesk.com/nyag-tether-bitfinex-loan-documents-coming-weeks

The New York Attorney General (NYAG) anticipates the handover of loan documents relating to an alleged $850 million cover-up will be completed in “the coming weeks.”

Remember that this incident happened many years back (although the legal process is ongoing), when Tether was still in its infancy and when the market cap was only a fraction of the current level. Just imagine what will be the impact, if something like this one is uncovered now. Let's just hope that it will not happen, but if it occurs, then it will be the biggest scam in cryptocurrency till date.

[2double0]

I use Tether as a crypto-fiat gate only, not for long term storage, so I don't worry about my USDT holdings, they are relatively small.

I also use it in a limited way because holding it for longer has so many risks associated with it. If it does not get hacked by somebody, then sometimes I have seen some project owners ditching their investors and holders by dumping the project in any way. I always remain scared when I use USDT or any other fiat-pegged coins that some day, if I don't see them in my account some day, it will just break my trust from these stablecoins.

[South Park]

Imagine if someone tipped the scales over and USDT comes falling down like a stack of cards. I get that it is ‘backed’ in some ways though idk if that translates to the entirety of its market cap or just some portion of it. Once something goes terribly wrong for USDT, see how it affects most of the crypto industry that relies on it to safekeep value when they are not trading cryptocurrencies themselves.

That is something that people have been fearing for a long time, tether is like any other fiat currency and we all know that fiat currencies regardless of their promises eventually fail, what we do not know is when this will happen, and when it happens, I'm pretty sure that the market is going to be affected significantly, what I do not know is how long this is going to last, the market could move very quickly and move to other stable coins and to bitcoin and recover in months but it could also lead to a massive crash that it take us years in order to recover.

[ChrisPop]

To me Tether is just an extra unnecessary risk traders take. I wouldn't trust a company to hold my funds. I barely trust the fortune 500 companies to manage funds because they have an interest aka to make a profit. And they have to obey a lot of regulations.

[figmentofmyass]

Tether to me seems to be the scam of the century. I believe there are way too many better stablecoins like Binance's USD (BUSD) to convert into, but as I can see that it can't be used on too many websites (especially on gambling and casino sites which are mainly targeted by USDT users as well as probably no direct purchases) is the reason here why tether has been a big hit.

It's not just Tether, though.  Any privately owned currency is problematic, since you have to trust the entity that claims they're holding the funds.  I'm staying away from all stablecoins that consist of tokens supposedly backed by private wealth.  They're all effectively IOUs.

are there any stablecoins that don't fit that definition? most people think DAI is decentralized, but DAI is actually majority backed by centralized assets like USDC, PAX, and WBTC. there are huge third party risks involved.

the way i see it, different stablecoins come with different risks:

• the odds of USDC or GUSD becoming unpegged due to insolvency (like a bank account getting seized) is extremely low because their issuers are super compliant in terms of licensing and AML. the odds of that happening to USDT are much higher.
• however, the odds of USDC or GUSD becoming infungible (or having your account closed or being reported to regulatory authorities) is much higher than with USDT, since tether and bitfinex are much more lax with AML/KYC stuff re secondary markets.
• "decentralized" stablecoins like DAI represent another risk: bad smart contract execution, bad governance, network congestion, etc can cause unexpected and catastrophic losses, like the $4.5 million lost in DAI during the crash in march.

[Sithara007]

are there any stablecoins that don't fit that definition? most people think DAI is decentralized, but DAI is actually majority backed by centralized assets like USDC, PAX, and WBTC. there are huge third party risks involved.

the way i see it, different stablecoins come with different risks:

• the odds of USDC or GUSD becoming unpegged due to insolvency (like a bank account getting seized) is extremely low because their issuers are super compliant in terms of licensing and AML. the odds of that happening to USDT are much higher.
• however, the odds of USDC or GUSD becoming infungible (or having your account closed or being reported to regulatory authorities) is much higher than with USDT, since tether and bitfinex are much more lax with AML/KYC stuff re secondary markets.
• "decentralized" stablecoins like DAI represent another risk: bad smart contract execution, bad governance, network congestion, etc can cause unexpected and catastrophic losses, like the $4.5 million lost in DAI during the crash in march.

In short, if you are holding a stablecoin there is a huge amount of risk, either from your account getting frozen or as a result of the coin getting unpegged. It is for the user to decide which risk they want to take. This is one of the reasons why I never use stablecoins. Another reason is that volatility goes both ways. If you convert your assets to stablecoin, then there is always a chance that you will be left behind during major cryptocurrency bull runs.    

[AitorMarcos]

I am worried about my funds in USDT. I think I have to move to USDC or BUSD.

Same here, already halfed my USDT and exchanged it to USDC.
Not so worried, thats just a rational safety call

[Tushar Ramani]

You're right. The team has not even disclosed its price to remain $1. Here are a few points to look at the other side:

• 20B circulation with nothing backed
• No proof of funds either
• Banking partner on the Bahamas
• Lawsuits are pending
• No physical operation location
• Without any regulation
• Prints n x USDT like feds

I am worried about my funds in USDT. I think I have to move to USDC or BUSD.

I don't think Tether team are stupid enough to claim they have $20 billion tokens without having anything to back it up. I believe they have some stash in Billion of USD but not 100% sure all the Tether tokens are backed. Where do you think the money used to pump BTC recently comes from or it was just pumped with air, this is the question you need to ask yourself

You think? We are going to enter 2021 and there is a wide acceptance of something known as "proof". They can't admit if 1 USDT is backed by 1 USD.

[Tushar Ramani]

• Lawsuits are pending

Do you have any sources for this? I remember I read about it a little while ago but I forgot where it was. I wonder when will they place the bomb. I guess they wait for crypto to moon even higher before they act.

I too read the article somewhere. But this is what I camp up with: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.524076/gov.uscourts.nysd.524076.154.0.pdf

[Tushar Ramani]

This is what worries me. I'm quite sure of bitcoin's possibilities, its safety and all that, but if we allow private companies to produce tokens on massive scale and exchange it for bitcoins, we're taking a huge risk. If I told you now that I have a USD equivalent and I will give it to you for your bitcoins, would you believe me?
If I had an exchange and made a token accepted on my exchange, would you sell your bitcoins to me in exchange for that token?

When I put it like that most of you probably think that you wouldn't. What makes you trust people who make tether then? Those people said that they are backed and later were caught lying. Why do you still exchange your bitcoins into tether instead of choosing more transparent stable coins?

In order to encash bitcoin, people use p2p platforms. The problem is USDT has become popular with almost every p2p platform but we are not seeing USDC. That is the issue we are facing currently.

[bittreo]

Tether to me seems to be the scam of the century. I believe there are way too many better stablecoins like Binance's USD (BUSD) to convert into, but as I can see that it can't be used on too many websites (especially on gambling and casino sites which are mainly targeted by USDT users as well as probably no direct purchases) is the reason here why tether has been a big hit.

It's not just Tether, though.  Any privately owned currency is problematic, since you have to trust the entity that claims they're holding the funds.  I'm staying away from all stablecoins that consist of tokens supposedly backed by private wealth.  They're all effectively IOUs.

are there any stablecoins that don't fit that definition? most people think DAI is decentralized, but DAI is actually majority backed by centralized assets like USDC, PAX, and WBTC. there are huge third party risks involved.

the way i see it, different stablecoins come with different risks:

• the odds of USDC or GUSD becoming unpegged due to insolvency (like a bank account getting seized) is extremely low because their issuers are super compliant in terms of licensing and AML. the odds of that happening to USDT are much higher.
• however, the odds of USDC or GUSD becoming infungible (or having your account closed or being reported to regulatory authorities) is much higher than with USDT, since tether and bitfinex are much more lax with AML/KYC stuff re secondary markets.
• "decentralized" stablecoins like DAI represent another risk: bad smart contract execution, bad governance, network congestion, etc can cause unexpected and catastrophic losses, like the $4.5 million lost in DAI during the crash in march.

At one point, we want to avoid high risk with Tether and on the other point we also avoid getting reported to authorities. Due to smart contract vulnerabilities, we also want to avoid DeFi solutions like DAI. So, I don't think we have other options here. On top all of that, I think USDC can be a secured bet.

[bryant.coleman]

I am worried about my funds in USDT. I think I have to move to USDC or BUSD.

Same here, already halfed my USDT and exchanged it to USDC.
Not so worried, thats just a rational safety call

I don't know why you guys continue to hold your wealth in the form of stablecoins. USDC is not safer than USDT. All the stablecoins are risky and holding them may result in huge losses for you. If you want to store your wealth, then store it in the form of Bitcoin. Obviously the risk of volatile exchange rate is there, but IMO this risk is lower than keeping the wealth in the form of stablecoins.

[mindrust]

• Lawsuits are pending

Do you have any sources for this? I remember I read about it a little while ago but I forgot where it was. I wonder when will they place the bomb. I guess they wait for crypto to moon even higher before they act.

I too read the article somewhere. But this is what I camp up with: https://www.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.524076/gov.uscourts.nysd.524076.154.0.pdf

That sounds pretty serious:

Plaintiffs adequately allege price manipulation and market manipulation (as well as aiding
and abetting and principal-agent claims) by detailing how Defendants coordinated to carefully time
purchases of crypto-commodities, using unbacked USDT, to create the illusion of price “floors.”

Pretty much sums up what people were worrying about.