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It’s more important than that. Cryptocurrency proponents have been trying to downplay the Tether situation for years. One of the common dismissals was the idea

It’s more important than that. Cryptocurrency proponents have been trying to downplay the Tether situation for years. One of the common dismissals was the idea that if what Tether was doing was truly fraudulent, some government institution would step in to intervene. Proponents pointed to the lack of intervention as a signal that Tether was operating above board. This also reveals new facts and numbers about the scale of what has been going on. We still don’t know the full story, but it’s clear that reality is even worse than we thought.

jkhdigital 6y ago
I don't disagree that Tether is likely a big fraud, but my point is that even the regulated financial system is full of questionable accounting and long-running, undiscovered fraud. Remember Bernie Madoff? His fraud lasted 17 years before falling apart. It would be nice if Tether eventually falls apart too, but the world will never run out of fraudsters and hucksters.
- mumblemumble 6y ago
  Bernie Madoff's fraud was big and awful, but, if the allegations about Tether are true, then (edit: for the purposes of this particular discussion) comparing the two is a category error. Madoff's fraud never raised any questions about whether the exchange rate between USD and some other currency was legitimate.
- saalweachter 6y ago
  The innovation of Bitcoin is that it is a decentralized Ponzi scheme. Bernie Madoff's scheme fell apart because it was centralized, and so, once you arrested Madoff, it was over. The end. There's no one at the center of Bitcoin. There are big players, sure, but they are all replaceable. It's happened before and it will happen again. And each time one exchange or big player is arrested, shut down, or slinks away having stolen enough money to sate themselves, someone new can seamlessly slip in and start hyping Bitcoin and taking a percentage from the new rubes without missing a beat. I honestly don't think it will ever go away, completely, for good, no matter how often it booms and busts. When I'm in a nursing home I'm going to be getting calls from boiler rooms trying to convince me to move my retirement savings into Bitcoin, I'm convinced.
  - varispeed 6y ago
    Almost every currency is a ponzi scheme - that does not only apply to crypto.
    - saalweachter 6y ago
      Wombats poop cubes -- they stack them to mark their territory.
teknopurge 6y ago
I did not see any data in that post that is new. The latest news this-year is that Tether paid-off the remaining balances of borrows/loans from other asset classes to make the USD holdings whole. The only way to tell is an independent 3rd-party audit, which would bring some finality to this discussion.

jkhdigital 6y ago

I don't disagree that Tether is likely a big fraud, but my point is that even the regulated financial system is full of questionable accounting and long-running, undiscovered fraud. Remember Bernie Madoff? His fraud lasted 17 years before falling apart. It would be nice if Tether eventually falls apart too, but the world will never run out of fraudsters and hucksters.

mumblemumble 6y ago
Bernie Madoff's fraud was big and awful, but, if the allegations about Tether are true, then (edit: for the purposes of this particular discussion) comparing the two is a category error. Madoff's fraud never raised any questions about whether the exchange rate between USD and some other currency was legitimate.
saalweachter 6y ago
The innovation of Bitcoin is that it is a decentralized Ponzi scheme. Bernie Madoff's scheme fell apart because it was centralized, and so, once you arrested Madoff, it was over. The end. There's no one at the center of Bitcoin. There are big players, sure, but they are all replaceable. It's happened before and it will happen again. And each time one exchange or big player is arrested, shut down, or slinks away having stolen enough money to sate themselves, someone new can seamlessly slip in and start hyping Bitcoin and taking a percentage from the new rubes without missing a beat. I honestly don't think it will ever go away, completely, for good, no matter how often it booms and busts. When I'm in a nursing home I'm going to be getting calls from boiler rooms trying to convince me to move my retirement savings into Bitcoin, I'm convinced.
- varispeed 6y ago
  Almost every currency is a ponzi scheme - that does not only apply to crypto.
  - saalweachter 6y ago
    Wombats poop cubes -- they stack them to mark their territory.

teknopurge 6y ago

I did not see any data in that post that is new. The latest news this-year is that Tether paid-off the remaining balances of borrows/loans from other asset classes to make the USD holdings whole. The only way to tell is an independent 3rd-party audit, which would bring some finality to this discussion.