Sure. People disinclined to trust Tether's word are already out of USDT. Clearly, a lot remain. Some of those people might attempt to profit from arbitraging

Sure. People disinclined to trust Tether's word are already out of USDT. Clearly, a lot remain. Some of those people might attempt to profit from arbitraging a de-pegged Tether (maybe at $0.97 rather than $0.50 but it's the same principle).