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If you spend 10 mins looking into tether online, it’s easy to see it’s a totally fucking scam. It’s unbelievable.

by Flatcircle 5y ago

Synaesthesia 5y ago
I have spent 10 min looking into it, and I'm suspicious. But could you maybe elaborate?
- Jenk 5y ago
  Their Wiki page[0] is quite damning: Tether is a controversial[1] cryptocurrency with tokens issued by Tether Limited, which in turn is controlled by the owners of Bitfinex.[2][3] Tether Limited formerly falsely[4] claimed that each token was backed by one United States dollar, but on 14 March 2019 changed the backing to include loans to affiliate companies.[5][6] The Bitfinex exchange was the subject of a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General of using Tether's funds to cover up $850 million in funds missing since mid-2018.[7][8] The investigation found that iFinex — the operator of Bitfinex and Tether — made false statements about the backing of the Tether and about the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars between the two companies to cover up the truth about massive losses by Bitfinex. According to the New York Attorney General, "Tether’s claims that its virtual currency was fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times was a lie".[4] [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)
- lovecg 5y ago
  This article was an entertaining read https://www.kalzumeus.com/2019/10/28/tether-and-bitfinex/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2019/10/28/tether-and-bitfinex/
cheeseomlit 5y ago
It really is quite obvious- the funny thing is the USD/Federal Reserve has been running the same scam for decades (expanding the money supply with no backing) and it's just as obvious
- iudqnolq 5y ago
  The difference is the fed is up front USD is unbacked, whereas tether lies about USDT's backing. In the financial system it's often not a problem to sell something as long as you're up front about what it is.
- threevox 5y ago
  False equivalence much?
- pavlov 5y ago
  I didn't realize Tether owns eleven aircraft supercarriers and collects tax revenue from 330 million people. Pretty impressive for a company that operates out of a backroom somewhere in the Bahamas.
  - Clewza313 5y ago
    That's on par for Tether, which has 13 employees managing ~$65B in funds, meaning everybody including the janitor manages a portfolio of $5B. The poor schmucks at Goldman Sachs can only manage around $18M per person.
  - Smithalicious 5y ago
    I always enjoy this argument that approximately goes "don't worry, if the dollar goes tits up, Uncle Sam will just bomb people until it's alright again."
    - kevingadd 5y ago
      Unfortunately, it's true.
    - lazypenguin 5y ago
      More like “if the dollar goes tits up, Uncle Sam has enough assets in the real world to maintain infrastructure and law and order.”
    - thehappypm 5y ago
Smithalicious 5y ago
I like how it's always people who spent 10 minutes looking who say it's a total scam. What percentage of tether doomsayers here have ever traded a significant amount of tether? Don't get me wrong, I also don't trust tether and think there's an unacceptable amount of sketchiness there, but simply looking at who's at each side of the debate should show you that it's not as slam dunk as you think it is.
- yunohn 5y ago
  I can trade in and profit off of snake oil, and there are lots of snake oil salespeople around the world - but it’s still snake oil at the end of the day.
- kevingadd 5y ago
  What percentage of lead paint critics have actually tried licking lead paint? My kids love it, so it can't be that bad
- rsynnott 5y ago
  > What percentage of tether doomsayers here have ever traded a significant amount of tether? "But what percentage of people who say that dioxins are dangerous have ever jumped into a big swimming pool full of dioxins?!" I mean, if you think tether is a scam, you are probably going to refrain from going anywhere near it.
Apofis 5y ago
Tether and Bitfinex are entirely banned in New York State and I really don't think it will be too long until other states follow suit and likely the SEC too.

If you spend 10 mins looking into tether online, it’s easy to see it’s a totally fucking scam. It’s unbelievable.

Synaesthesia 5y ago

I have spent 10 min looking into it, and I'm suspicious. But could you maybe elaborate?

Jenk 5y ago
Their Wiki page[0] is quite damning: Tether is a controversial[1] cryptocurrency with tokens issued by Tether Limited, which in turn is controlled by the owners of Bitfinex.[2][3] Tether Limited formerly falsely[4] claimed that each token was backed by one United States dollar, but on 14 March 2019 changed the backing to include loans to affiliate companies.[5][6] The Bitfinex exchange was the subject of a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General of using Tether's funds to cover up $850 million in funds missing since mid-2018.[7][8] The investigation found that iFinex — the operator of Bitfinex and Tether — made false statements about the backing of the Tether and about the movement of hundreds of millions of dollars between the two companies to cover up the truth about massive losses by Bitfinex. According to the New York Attorney General, "Tether’s claims that its virtual currency was fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times was a lie".[4] [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)
lovecg 5y ago
This article was an entertaining read https://www.kalzumeus.com/2019/10/28/tether-and-bitfinex/ https://www.kalzumeus.com/2019/10/28/tether-and-bitfinex/

cheeseomlit 5y ago

It really is quite obvious- the funny thing is the USD/Federal Reserve has been running the same scam for decades (expanding the money supply with no backing) and it's just as obvious

iudqnolq 5y ago
The difference is the fed is up front USD is unbacked, whereas tether lies about USDT's backing. In the financial system it's often not a problem to sell something as long as you're up front about what it is.
threevox 5y ago
False equivalence much?
pavlov 5y ago
I didn't realize Tether owns eleven aircraft supercarriers and collects tax revenue from 330 million people. Pretty impressive for a company that operates out of a backroom somewhere in the Bahamas.
- Clewza313 5y ago
  That's on par for Tether, which has 13 employees managing ~$65B in funds, meaning everybody including the janitor manages a portfolio of $5B. The poor schmucks at Goldman Sachs can only manage around $18M per person.
- Smithalicious 5y ago
  I always enjoy this argument that approximately goes "don't worry, if the dollar goes tits up, Uncle Sam will just bomb people until it's alright again."
  - kevingadd 5y ago
    Unfortunately, it's true.
  - lazypenguin 5y ago
    More like “if the dollar goes tits up, Uncle Sam has enough assets in the real world to maintain infrastructure and law and order.”
  - thehappypm 5y ago

Smithalicious 5y ago

I like how it's always people who spent 10 minutes looking who say it's a total scam. What percentage of tether doomsayers here have ever traded a significant amount of tether? Don't get me wrong, I also don't trust tether and think there's an unacceptable amount of sketchiness there, but simply looking at who's at each side of the debate should show you that it's not as slam dunk as you think it is.

yunohn 5y ago
I can trade in and profit off of snake oil, and there are lots of snake oil salespeople around the world - but it’s still snake oil at the end of the day.
kevingadd 5y ago
What percentage of lead paint critics have actually tried licking lead paint? My kids love it, so it can't be that bad
rsynnott 5y ago
> What percentage of tether doomsayers here have ever traded a significant amount of tether? "But what percentage of people who say that dioxins are dangerous have ever jumped into a big swimming pool full of dioxins?!" I mean, if you think tether is a scam, you are probably going to refrain from going anywhere near it.

Apofis 5y ago

Tether and Bitfinex are entirely banned in New York State and I really don't think it will be too long until other states follow suit and likely the SEC too.