[HN Gopher] Tether (USDT) is launching on Coinbase Pro
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       Tether (USDT) is launching on Coinbase Pro
        
       Author : WA9ACE
       Score  : 8 points
       Date   : 2021-04-24 17:28 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (blog.coinbase.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (blog.coinbase.com)
        
       | aritmo wrote:
       | > For stablecoins like USDT, the company behind the protocol is
       | responsible for holding reserves that fully back each token. The
       | company behind Tether, Tether Limited, claims to hold reserves
       | that fully back each USDT. As of 2021, USDT is the most widely-
       | used stablecoin in the world, with a market cap over $30 billion.
        
         | snypher wrote:
         | Has Tether ever _proven_ that the coin is backed by $? It 's
         | fine to claim that, but I'm pretty convinced the $ doesn't
         | exist and would like to see some proof otherwise.
         | 
         | "Indeed, a Tether lawyer said in 2019 each USDT was only about
         | 74% backed by fiat equivalents."
         | 
         | What's a fiat equivalent, because it sure doesn't sound like a
         | $?
        
           | FDSGSG wrote:
           | >What's a fiat equivalent, because it sure doesn't sound like
           | a $?
           | 
           | Government bonds
        
           | boublepop wrote:
           | Tether themselves issued a shady statement saying something
           | like they where backed 70% by dollar holdings, or crypto
           | equivalent. Essentially meaning that as long as they don't
           | pocket 100% of the money you pay them. And as long as they
           | mint twice the amount of tether using one to back the other,
           | well they they are technically not lying. But reallity is
           | that if enough people tried to withdraw dollars for tether
           | the coin would collapse and the masterminds would suddenly
           | "die of some obscure disease in India" with all their wealth
           | disappearing with them.
        
         | hebetude wrote:
         | how old is this quote? It's 50 billion
         | https://coinmarketcap.com/currencies/tether/.
         | 
         | It's an incredibly shady coin. No doubt it was a lot of work by
         | Coinbase to onboard it.
        
           | spurdoman77 wrote:
           | For stablecoins, I think normal people dont think thar much
           | about the shadiness but more if it works or not. Tether has
           | been keeping their stablecoin stable for 6+ years, for normal
           | users it looks good for quite wide variery of uses. Of course
           | no one is saving their pension in USDT but there are lots of
           | shorter term use cases.
        
       | dragonwriter wrote:
       | > For stablecoins like USDT, the company behind the protocol is
       | responsible for holding reserves that fully back each token.
       | 
       | I don't think full backing is technically required for a
       | stablecoin. OTOH, such a promise, if believed, helps a stablecoin
       | stay stable, and having made the promise it becomes the firms
       | obligation.
        
         | jl2718 wrote:
         | It is now for regulation-compliant stablecoins. Also KYC checks
         | and AML blacklisting.
        
           | rahimnathwani wrote:
           | Does this mean that Dai (which does relies on market
           | mechanisms rather than than reserves) is not compliant with
           | regulations, but USDT is? Which regulations?
        
             | jl2718 wrote:
             | Yes. https://tlaib.house.gov/sites/tlaib.house.gov/files/ST
             | ABLEAc...
             | 
             | I don't know what that means for DAI. An interpretation of
             | the law may mean that exchanges would not be able to sell
             | it. And the owner would normally be liable for breaking the
             | law, which is every MKR holder, so I don't know how they
             | plan on doing that.
             | 
             | But honestly, it never works out that way. Laws get passed,
             | regulators take out easy targets, and the big guys tie them
             | up in court until they get the laws they want.
        
         | celticninja wrote:
         | Well it has been called into question since tether began. Not
         | helped my them paying an SEC fine recently for not backing it
         | fully. It is still questionable if it is fully backed or not,
         | with evidence or support not being supplied by the company
         | behind it.
        
           | hebetude wrote:
           | US government fining alternative currencies!? Of course they
           | do any loss by US dollar is a loss for the fed.
        
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       (page generated 2021-04-24 23:02 UTC)