Once again, another coordinated attack on Bitcoin has begun. This time associating Bitcoin with news related to another cryptocurrency, Tether. Tether, also known as USDT, was created to fill a need for a cryptocurrency with volatility protection for trading. According to Tether, they do this by securing every USDT with one USD. Tether is owned by a trading company named Bitfinex, and Bitfinex has promised to release an audit of its financials, to settle the nerves of their investors. However, this has not happened yet.
News outlets are reporting predictions of an 80% decrease in the price of Bitcoin if Bitfinex is unable to produce an audit that proves there is 1 USD securing every 1 USDT. As is typical concerning rumor and gossip, it's unclear, at least to me, if Bitfinex is being encouraged to produce a financial audit encompassing all digital assets traded on their exchange, or only Tether. None the less, the majority of negative attention is being focused on the impact that Tether not being properly secured by USD as stated would have on the price of Bitcoin. News outlets are using the same old fear-inspiring tactics to panic the market as usual. Using words like “bloodbath” and “crash” to describe what will happen to Bitcoin if this dispute isn't settled with proof.
While Tether would likely be affected negatively if these accusations are confirmed, it’s likely that the impact on Bitcoin would be minimal at worst. According to coinmarket.com, less than 10% of Bitcoin trades on all exchanges combined are in Tether. In addition, over 20% of the daily BTC trade volume is in fiat exchanges such as Coinbase and Gemini. Bitfinex daily trade volume in BTC is over 32% and accounts for the largest percentage of all daily Bitcoin trades, but only a small percentage of that trade volume is in Tether.
This isn’t the first time that negative news concerning Bitcoin has been picked up by numerous news reporting sites on the internet, and it certainly will not be the last. If for some reason the BTC price drops substantially by the Tether news being reported, I will personally be ready to buy. Nothing wrong with picking up some Bitcoin from scared money for a discount.
As always this is not investing advice and I am not a financial advisor. Do your own research and make your own informed decisions. Good luck trading.
@OriginalWorks
