No one will deny Tether’s USDT stablecoin is a bit controversial. That image has only been reinforced today, as the currency proves to be anything but stable in value. A current market dip pushes the below per USDT below the $0.96 mark. A very odd situation for a currency allegedly pegged to the value of 1 US Dollar.
Tether’s USDT is Anything but Stable
It is uncommon for stablecoins pegged to the US Dollar to lose value when the market turns extremely volatile. In the case of Tether’s USDT, its value has plummeted significantly, and it is currently valued at $0.96. That is not a positive sign, although there is a precedent. A while ago, one could buy USDT on Kraken for $0.93 due to some liquidity issues. That situation was resolved fairly quickly, though.
It seems this particular dip will be a different matter altogether. There is no official reason for the USDT price to defect from its $1 value, at least not if there are enough dollars in financial reserves to warrant the current circulating supply. There have been concerns regarding Tether’s liquidity for quite some time now, and the lack of public third-party audits have cast a dark shadow over this project. That should not keep the USDT price down right now, though.
The main reason for this USDT price drop is the speculation involving Binance. someone shared a clearly photoshopped document on Twitter which confirmed Binance would be removing USDT from its platform altogether. It is safe to say this document is utterly fake, primarily because it discusses USDT as “Tether big scam”. A horrible attempt at discrediting both USDT and Binance, to say the least.
https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1051763178026065921
The “collapse” of USDT hasn’t gone by unnoticed among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. BlockCastRating shows how the value of USDT dropped to $0.87 at one point, although that momentum did not last all that long. It is uncommon for stablecoins to turn so volatile, though, as that should never happen in the first place. A very peculiar trend, although no resolution appears to be in sight just yet.
#USDT is collapsing and cryptos are pumping!!
加密幣市場上的穩定幣龍頭USDT價格正在崩盤，在 @BittrexExchange 價格曾達到
$0.869😣#幣安 上的TUSD/USDT 價格漲幅則是達到13.47%以上!#Binance #StableCoin #TUSD pic.twitter.com/n73HcTqUwH— Blockcast Lab & Research (@BlockcastLR) October 15, 2018
Every time something like this happens, there will be those who try to grasp this opportunity with both hands. FCoin, an up-and-coming cryptocurrency exchange, has taken the time to tell its users they should not worry about USDT’s volatility, as the platform supports TrueUSD. It is interesting to note how USDT is the only stablecoin going through volatility right now.
https://twitter.com/FCoinOfficial/status/1051736180973289472
It is evident traders are trying to take advantage of this price discrepancy. Any USDT bought now could bounce back to $1 eventually, resulting in 4% – 5% gain per token when things return to normal. At the same time, there is a genuine concern things may never return to normal for Tether’s token. An interesting situation, although one that also raises plenty of questions.
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