USDC

advias

Any stable that relies 100% on audits is not long term safe so I agree on this one. DAI is probably safer than USDC. It's backed by both decentralized assets and centralized assets. The risk is much more decentralized than anything USDC has because it's aggregated across many investment vehicles. RICO is another interesting stable that's new but not yet gaining mass adoption. LUSD is what DAI was, fully backed by only Ethereum.

99Beers

No I sent ETH to CB and sold it for USDC

tilac

Phantom is a hot wallet and I have an extension for it in Chrome. If you had a Ledger you can connect it to Phantom and most other browser based wallets. I have lots of wallets connected to my Ledger device. The reason I mentioned Solana is that fees are about penny and there's lots going on there currently. So yeah, you'd lose money but it would be a penny each time which is a reasonable amount to spend on education. You have a couple types of exchanges, centralized (Binance, Coinbase) and decentralized (Uniswap on Ethereum or Jupiter on Solana) [https://app.uniswap.org/swap](https://app.uniswap.org/swap) [https://jup.ag/swap](https://jup.ag/swap) It's not so black and white but think of centralized as being owned by a company and decentralized owned by nobody. Someone will cry about that explanation but try to think of it that way in basic terms. Anyhow it's cheap to transact on Solana so you can swap your SOL into USDC, or a crazy meme coin, or Chainlink, or whatever else they offer on it cheaply. Learn how to do it, see what happens after you do, and how long it takes for all that to happen. [@TradersMastery](https://twitter.com/TradersMastery) [@MatthewHyland\_](https://twitter.com/MatthewHyland_) [@DaanCrypto](https://twitter.com/DaanCrypto) u/rektcapital ...are a few that I follow on Twitter that are more general crypto analysis and almost never shill junk. I also follow projects that I'm in. If I buy some Polkadot, I'll follow them.

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by CreepToeCurrentSea. > [USDT](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) is a stablecoin (stable-value cryptocurrency) issued by Tether, a Hong Kong-based company. The token is pegged to the USD by keeping reserves of commercial paper, fiduciary deposits, cash, reserve repo notes, and treasury bills equal to the number of USDT in circulation. Initially named as Realcoin, a second-layer cryptocurrency token built on top of Bitcoin's blockchain using the Omni platform, it was later renamed USTether and, finally, USDT. In addition to Bitcoin, USDT was later updated to work on the Ethereum, EOS, Tron, Algorand, and OMG blockchains. > > # PROs > > **USDT is well established** > > It has built a long history of resilience, reliability and trust because it has been around for a [while](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) (around 8 years in the cryptocurrency market). This had helped to convince clients that the stablecoin is [legitimate](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink). > > As of this year, USDT currently is in the top ten cryptocurrencies by [market cap](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) with a 24-hour trading volume of around 45 billion dollars and a total number of addresses of up to 4.5 million. In its last known [audit](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) in 2021 it has been considered to have *"No vulnerabilities with critical, high, medium or low-severity."* > > **Wide acceptance** > > Tether has multiple gateways for customers (retail, exchanges, and companies) because it is built on several leading [blockchains](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols), including Algorand, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash's Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Polygon, Tezos, Tron, Solana, and Statemine. These transport protocols are made up of open source software that interfaces with blockchains to allow for the issuance and redemption of Tether tokens. > > Furthermore, it has been available on major exchanges such as Bitfinex, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and [more](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets), Offering a plethora of pairs for users to choose from or that of which is available in their region although as of lately some exchanges have been switching to Circle's USDC over growing concerns of legal issues related with Tether. > > **Buffer against volatility** > > One of the primary functions of stablecoins is to act as a [hedge](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) when crypto markets are in a downturn. Because the aforementioned market is extremely volatile, traders and investors want some sort of buffer against this without having to directly trade their crypto for fiat as to also avoid larger fees as well. Supported by its large market capitalization, USDT should be less volatile and thus safer. > > **Announcement of a full audit** > > Tether's CTO Paolo Ardoino recently stated in an [interview](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) with Euromoney that the company is preparing for a full audit with an accounting firm called MHA Cayman (which also handles Tether's [quarterly assurance opinions/reports](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf)). According to the CTO in the interview, MHA Cayman is one of the "*top 12*" accounting firms, and most top accounting firms deny requests for full audits due to the associated reputational risks. In the future, hopefully, this will provide more security and transparency to its users against the number of allegations and investigations it is currently facing. > > **Despite everything, USDT is still here** > > From the past legal troubles it has faced, the ones it's facing right now, the vast amount of criticisms from different facets off the internet and the several crypto winters it endured. USDT is still alive and kicking. Will it still be the top stablecoin in the next 5 years? Unlikely, but I am for certain it was a major part for the growth and expansion of crypto's fetal years. Moving forward it's up to them, the people behind Tether, if they will finally redeem themselves against all the allegations, criticisms, troubles, and not just do another settlement. > > ^(Sources:) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/faqs/)](https://tether.to/en/faqs/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols)](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether\_(cryptocurrency))](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > [^(https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780)](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) > > [^(https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm\_source=CMC&utm\_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink)](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) > > [^(https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf)](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986\_Are\_stablecoins\_truly\_diversifiers\_hedges\_or\_safe\_havens\_against\_traditional\_cryptocurrencies\_as\_their\_name\_suggests)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534\_What\_is\_Stablecoin\_A\_Survey\_on\_Price\_Stabilization\_Mechanisms\_for\_Decentralized\_Payment\_Systems)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534_What_is_Stablecoin_A_Survey_on_Price_Stabilization_Mechanisms_for_Decentralized_Payment_Systems) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820\_Is\_Cryptocurrency\_a\_Hedge\_or\_a\_Safe\_Haven\_for\_International\_Indices\_A\_Comprehensive\_and\_Dynamic\_Perspective)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820_Is_Cryptocurrency_a_Hedge_or_a_Safe_Haven_for_International_Indices_A_Comprehensive_and_Dynamic_Perspective) > > [^(https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information)](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether\_Assurance\_Consolidated\_Reserves\_Report\_2022-03-31\_\_3\_.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

lostparanoia

If you don't want to do the research for individual coins and instead want an index-like portfolio allocation you could allocate your assets to the top 5 or top 10 coins (excluding stablecoins like Tether and USDC) weighted by market cap. Right now that would look something like this for the top 5: BTC = 59,3% ETH = 28,8% BNB = 4,8% SOL = 4,8% XRP = 2,3% I would recommend putting the majority of your assets in the big 2 regardless, and very little into other coins, as the risk is enormous in the smaller coins.

AbbreviationsLive475

Funny indeed...I would probably Convert to USDC get some of that 5% gain... Any thoughts?

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by CreepToeCurrentSea. > [USDT](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) is a stablecoin (stable-value cryptocurrency) issued by Tether, a Hong Kong-based company. The token is pegged to the USD by keeping reserves of commercial paper, fiduciary deposits, cash, reserve repo notes, and treasury bills equal to the number of USDT in circulation. Initially named as Realcoin, a second-layer cryptocurrency token built on top of Bitcoin's blockchain using the Omni platform, it was later renamed USTether and, finally, USDT. In addition to Bitcoin, USDT was later updated to work on the Ethereum, EOS, Tron, Algorand, and OMG blockchains. > > # PROs > > **USDT is well established** > > It has built a long history of resilience, reliability and trust because it has been around for a [while](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) (around 8 years in the cryptocurrency market). This had helped to convince clients that the stablecoin is [legitimate](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink). > > As of this year, USDT currently is in the top ten cryptocurrencies by [market cap](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) with a 24-hour trading volume of around 45 billion dollars and a total number of addresses of up to 4.5 million. In its last known [audit](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) in 2021 it has been considered to have *"No vulnerabilities with critical, high, medium or low-severity."* > > **Wide acceptance** > > Tether has multiple gateways for customers (retail, exchanges, and companies) because it is built on several leading [blockchains](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols), including Algorand, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash's Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Polygon, Tezos, Tron, Solana, and Statemine. These transport protocols are made up of open source software that interfaces with blockchains to allow for the issuance and redemption of Tether tokens. > > Furthermore, it has been available on major exchanges such as Bitfinex, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and [more](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets), Offering a plethora of pairs for users to choose from or that of which is available in their region although as of lately some exchanges have been switching to Circle's USDC over growing concerns of legal issues related with Tether. > > **Buffer against volatility** > > One of the primary functions of stablecoins is to act as a [hedge](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) when crypto markets are in a downturn. Because the aforementioned market is extremely volatile, traders and investors want some sort of buffer against this without having to directly trade their crypto for fiat as to also avoid larger fees as well. Supported by its large market capitalization, USDT should be less volatile and thus safer. > > **Announcement of a full audit** > > Tether's CTO Paolo Ardoino recently stated in an [interview](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) with Euromoney that the company is preparing for a full audit with an accounting firm called MHA Cayman (which also handles Tether's [quarterly assurance opinions/reports](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf)). According to the CTO in the interview, MHA Cayman is one of the "*top 12*" accounting firms, and most top accounting firms deny requests for full audits due to the associated reputational risks. In the future, hopefully, this will provide more security and transparency to its users against the number of allegations and investigations it is currently facing. > > **Despite everything, USDT is still here** > > From the past legal troubles it has faced, the ones it's facing right now, the vast amount of criticisms from different facets off the internet and the several crypto winters it endured. USDT is still alive and kicking. Will it still be the top stablecoin in the next 5 years? Unlikely, but I am for certain it was a major part for the growth and expansion of crypto's fetal years. Moving forward it's up to them, the people behind Tether, if they will finally redeem themselves against all the allegations, criticisms, troubles, and not just do another settlement. > > ^(Sources:) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/faqs/)](https://tether.to/en/faqs/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols)](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether\_(cryptocurrency))](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > [^(https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780)](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) > > [^(https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm\_source=CMC&utm\_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink)](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) > > [^(https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf)](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986\_Are\_stablecoins\_truly\_diversifiers\_hedges\_or\_safe\_havens\_against\_traditional\_cryptocurrencies\_as\_their\_name\_suggests)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534\_What\_is\_Stablecoin\_A\_Survey\_on\_Price\_Stabilization\_Mechanisms\_for\_Decentralized\_Payment\_Systems)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534_What_is_Stablecoin_A_Survey_on_Price_Stabilization_Mechanisms_for_Decentralized_Payment_Systems) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820\_Is\_Cryptocurrency\_a\_Hedge\_or\_a\_Safe\_Haven\_for\_International\_Indices\_A\_Comprehensive\_and\_Dynamic\_Perspective)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820_Is_Cryptocurrency_a_Hedge_or_a_Safe_Haven_for_International_Indices_A_Comprehensive_and_Dynamic_Perspective) > > [^(https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information)](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether\_Assurance\_Consolidated\_Reserves\_Report\_2022-03-31\_\_3\_.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

Somebody__Online

You could only be as critical about a DeX, if you don’t know how to use a DeX and EVN roll up chains that make transaction cost free. If you don’t know how to set limit trades or use asymmetric lp ranges to buy and sell low liquidity assets while also farming trade fees from others while your “order” fills. I mean yeah. If your just using the swap tab on a dex on eth main net to trade $100 at a time, then your doing it wrong. I report my moves as well, but the point is that I report them and am the custodian of my assets rather than a middle man. Sure the USDC I hold is an IOU from circle, but the USDC you hold on a CeX is an IOU of that IOU. You’re adding another layer of trust to your holdings by storing stable coins at a CeX. Crypto is for sure about more than exchanging for other crypto and your not gonna get any of that action when your dealing with a broker as your custodian. The point about tether gaining popularity is a bit odd to me in light of the tether balance sheet shrinking while other usd backed assets are growing. The reality of tether being potentially insolvent is known and priced in by the crypto market at large, at least from my perspective and I participate in the market very actively directly on chain in ways that are way beyond trading crypto for other crypto. If your impression is different then it is likely informed by your perception on the CeX circuit. That impression could be less than accurate when the overall tether balance sheet only recently started adding units into circulation again after having been slashed for years prior.

funkinaround

> Have fun on the CeX where you can trade only what they allow you to trade, as long as they are not down for maintenance during peek volatility.  You can be just as critical about DEXs too. "Have fun on the DEX with your lower liquidity and much higher transaction fees". > They hold all your funds as you hold an IOU and trust them to pay you back, and they report on every little movement you make to the IRS.  I report every little movement to the IRS as required by law. Holding USDC or USDT is an IOU that you trust is paid back.  > USDT your trading on a CeX doesn’t even need to exist for them to sell it to you since you own a number on their balance sheet and have no way to verify the exchanges solvency until it’s too late.  Sure, but CEXs can help you correct errors. Make some fat finger error and trade at a price or amount you didn't mean to? They are able to help you undo it. Can't do that on a DEX. Some "drain my metamask wallet" type attack won't affect your tokens held on a CEX. > I mean if you’re gonna ignore the actual crypto ecosystem entirely, then what is the point of your comments at all? It was originally just about Tether and how USDC money moved to USDT in the wake of the SVB collapse. You started talking about DEXs and all sorts of other stuff. From what I see, crypto is about more than just exchanging for other crypto.

vinibarbosa

**Crypto wallet adds pay-per-use access to premium subscription AIs** [**https://finbold.com/crypto-wallet-adds-pay-per-use-access-to-premium-subscription-ais/**](https://finbold.com/crypto-wallet-adds-pay-per-use-access-to-premium-subscription-ais/) "The popular crypto wallet, Cake Wallet, has added support to a pay-per-use artificial intelligence (AI) platform that allows access to premium APIs like ChatGPT-4, Dall-E 3, Claude 3 Opus, and more. Finbold exclusively talked to the companies’ founders about using cryptocurrencies for payments in their services. Now, Cake Wallet users can pay-per-use premium AI chatbots directly from their cryptocurrency self-custody address with Nano (XNO). Moreover, it is possible to swap other supported cryptocurrencies in-app, such as Bitcoin (BTC), Monero (XMR), Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Polygon-based USDT, USDC, and others." >

Somebody__Online

Priced into the crypto market at large. Not into the stable coin token price, obviously. I’m not talking about USDT units at centralized exchanges. Yeah those are fucked lol. Im talking about on chain liquidity depth in the defi ecosystem. USDC has passed USDT as the deepest liquidity stable coin on uniswap on ETH main net a while ago. On chain traders are weary of USDT. Even money markets like AAVE and Compound isolate the USDT market. I’m saying that USDT will likely collapse as you suggested but unlike your suggestion, I don’t think it’s gonna shock the crypto world. At least the on chain side of this tech has been expecting and adjusting risk exposure accordingly.

funkinaround

"Priced in" at $1. If it was questionable, it wouldn't be trading for $1. > I mean the majority of stable coins has shifted to USDC as traders lose confidence in USDT  You mean the reverse. Flows shifted from USDC to USDT when SVB collapsed.

Somebody__Online

USDT has been questionable for years. I honestly wonder if it’s priced in to an extent. I mean the majority of stable coins has shifted to USDC as traders lose confidence in USDT

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by CreepToeCurrentSea. > [USDT](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) is a stablecoin (stable-value cryptocurrency) issued by Tether, a Hong Kong-based company. The token is pegged to the USD by keeping reserves of commercial paper, fiduciary deposits, cash, reserve repo notes, and treasury bills equal to the number of USDT in circulation. Initially named as Realcoin, a second-layer cryptocurrency token built on top of Bitcoin's blockchain using the Omni platform, it was later renamed USTether and, finally, USDT. In addition to Bitcoin, USDT was later updated to work on the Ethereum, EOS, Tron, Algorand, and OMG blockchains. > > # PROs > > **USDT is well established** > > It has built a long history of resilience, reliability and trust because it has been around for a [while](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) (around 8 years in the cryptocurrency market). This had helped to convince clients that the stablecoin is [legitimate](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink). > > As of this year, USDT currently is in the top ten cryptocurrencies by [market cap](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) with a 24-hour trading volume of around 45 billion dollars and a total number of addresses of up to 4.5 million. In its last known [audit](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) in 2021 it has been considered to have *"No vulnerabilities with critical, high, medium or low-severity."* > > **Wide acceptance** > > Tether has multiple gateways for customers (retail, exchanges, and companies) because it is built on several leading [blockchains](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols), including Algorand, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash's Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Polygon, Tezos, Tron, Solana, and Statemine. These transport protocols are made up of open source software that interfaces with blockchains to allow for the issuance and redemption of Tether tokens. > > Furthermore, it has been available on major exchanges such as Bitfinex, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and [more](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets), Offering a plethora of pairs for users to choose from or that of which is available in their region although as of lately some exchanges have been switching to Circle's USDC over growing concerns of legal issues related with Tether. > > **Buffer against volatility** > > One of the primary functions of stablecoins is to act as a [hedge](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) when crypto markets are in a downturn. Because the aforementioned market is extremely volatile, traders and investors want some sort of buffer against this without having to directly trade their crypto for fiat as to also avoid larger fees as well. Supported by its large market capitalization, USDT should be less volatile and thus safer. > > **Announcement of a full audit** > > Tether's CTO Paolo Ardoino recently stated in an [interview](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) with Euromoney that the company is preparing for a full audit with an accounting firm called MHA Cayman (which also handles Tether's [quarterly assurance opinions/reports](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf)). According to the CTO in the interview, MHA Cayman is one of the "*top 12*" accounting firms, and most top accounting firms deny requests for full audits due to the associated reputational risks. In the future, hopefully, this will provide more security and transparency to its users against the number of allegations and investigations it is currently facing. > > **Despite everything, USDT is still here** > > From the past legal troubles it has faced, the ones it's facing right now, the vast amount of criticisms from different facets off the internet and the several crypto winters it endured. USDT is still alive and kicking. Will it still be the top stablecoin in the next 5 years? Unlikely, but I am for certain it was a major part for the growth and expansion of crypto's fetal years. Moving forward it's up to them, the people behind Tether, if they will finally redeem themselves against all the allegations, criticisms, troubles, and not just do another settlement. > > ^(Sources:) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/faqs/)](https://tether.to/en/faqs/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols)](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether\_(cryptocurrency))](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > [^(https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780)](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) > > [^(https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm\_source=CMC&utm\_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink)](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) > > [^(https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf)](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986\_Are\_stablecoins\_truly\_diversifiers\_hedges\_or\_safe\_havens\_against\_traditional\_cryptocurrencies\_as\_their\_name\_suggests)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534\_What\_is\_Stablecoin\_A\_Survey\_on\_Price\_Stabilization\_Mechanisms\_for\_Decentralized\_Payment\_Systems)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534_What_is_Stablecoin_A_Survey_on_Price_Stabilization_Mechanisms_for_Decentralized_Payment_Systems) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820\_Is\_Cryptocurrency\_a\_Hedge\_or\_a\_Safe\_Haven\_for\_International\_Indices\_A\_Comprehensive\_and\_Dynamic\_Perspective)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820_Is_Cryptocurrency_a_Hedge_or_a_Safe_Haven_for_International_Indices_A_Comprehensive_and_Dynamic_Perspective) > > [^(https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information)](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether\_Assurance\_Consolidated\_Reserves\_Report\_2022-03-31\_\_3\_.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

fishnislife

Favorite videos about Bitcoin Micheal Saylor https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8SQBIy5yG-s Jack Maller https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d7ID3fKAFQM&pp=ygUdamFjayBtYWxsZXJzIGJpdGNvaW4gYXRsYW50aXM%3D Follow guys like CryptosRUs https://m.youtube.com/@CryptosRUs Favorite books for understanding what Bitcoin is The Bitcoin Standard How to Bitcoin Best performing asset hands down over the last 15 years. Dollar cost average. Maybe set up a daily, weekly buy so you don’t have to think about it. But before throwing any bucks at crypto, figure out what your goals are and time horizon. If it is for the long haul. BTC is a no-brainer. Maybe come up with a plan and write it down. For example 50% Btc, 20% Eth, 10% Sol, and to keep it fun and engaging for yourself, 10% to meme coins or speculative projects. Leave 10% as “dry powder” on the sidelines in USDC or USDT for the wicked 20-30% market drawdowns and corrections. Fire 5-10% in these times to dollar cost average your positions. Then load that 10% back up with savings or “extra” investment cash and do it all over again. Take small profits out every once in a while and spend it on yourself. It will re-enforce that what you are doing is good, worth it and still working. Best of luck to ya. And just have a plan, goals and exit strategies set up so you’re not emotional in making decisions in this wild market.

coinfeeds-bot

tldr; Traders are accumulating PEPE tokens despite the crypto market's fluctuations, with significant transactions noted. One investor withdrew 350 billion PEPE tokens valued at $3.44 million from Binance, making a $2.66 million profit. Another bought 123.66 billion PEPE tokens for 1.09 million USDC. PEPE's market cap has reached $3.67 billion with 420 trillion tokens in circulation, indicating high trading volume and investor interest. The price of PEPE has seen a slight increase, performing better than the broader crypto market but less so compared to similar Ethereum ecosystem cryptocurrencies. *This summary is auto generated by a bot and not meant to replace reading the original article. As always, DYOR.

fishnislife

Terrible advice. I would NOT expose yourself. Quick way to go to jail. Especially if you do it near schools, parks or a Chucky Cheeses. No seriously, great advice by Horror_194. Best performing asset hands down over the last 15 years. Dollar cost average. Maybe set up a daily, weekly buy so you don’t have to think about it. But before throwing any bucks at crypto, figure out what your goals are and time horizon. If it is for the long haul. BTC is a no-brainer. Maybe come up with a plan and write it down. For example 50% Btc, 20% Eth, 10% Sol, and to keep it fun and engaging for yourself, 10% to meme coins or speculative projects. Leave 10% as “dry powder” on the sidelines in USDC or USDT for the wicked 20-30% market drawdowns and corrections. Fire 5-10% in these times to dollar cost average your positions. Then load that 10% back up with savings or “extra” investment cash and do it all over again. Best of luck to ya. And just have a plan, goals and exit strategy set up so you’re not emotional in making decisions in this wild market. It is the Wild, Wild West out there right now.

Adventurous-Ad-101

gBTC saw daily net outflows since ETF launched. This appears to have ended on May 6th, but during the period would have contributed to price suppression. After the halving, you see miner costs change significantly. With the current computer power required to mine BTC, at the current price it proves unprofitable for some parties. There is therefore an incentive to suppress price and drain reserves - hopefully killing competition, reducing computing power needed and ultimately improving profitability for those that remain. Bad news is traditionally released outside of market opening hours to allow markets not to be shifted abruptly be emotional reactions. With crypto never closing, these movements have more of an impact. During the last 30 days we’ve had 2x war announcements and 2x stagflation fear stories. Regulation is currently unclear and the future for most cryptos in uncertain. Whilst this regulation isn’t impacting BTC, via liquidity pools and bridging cryptocurrency price moves are interconnected in slight ways. There are also hidden concerns over Binance & The US. US having access to Binance may uncover market manipulation and wash trades for previous high value users of crypto. They are likely currently running controlled and minimised activity on chain. Finally, there are significant truths in the SEC’s current cases. MiCa arriving in the summer reduces the dominance of USDC & USDT on chain.

Deep-Cow9096

I won't go into specifics of what I've earned or what others I know have earned. The more money you have generally the more airdrops you'll be able to get. A lot of airdrops go to people with large stacks of popular coins/tokens because they're the ones most likely to actively trade the coin or have some level of influence to popularize the coin. The past year the major ones were staking Cosmos ecosystem coins (I think it's a bit tough to get into now with how high the requirements are becoming to qualify for airdrops and when those snapshots are taken). Holding Bonk, Solana, Solana Phone, WIF, holding/staking Jupiter/Pyth. More active is using DApps but a lot of them are very low effort needed but money needed. Lending protocols like MarginFi/Kamino, deposit funds, often times lending protocols allocate airdrops most for USDC/USDT deposits. Let it sit there for months and then get an airdrop that can be worth hundreds to tens of thousands of dollars. Other like ionet just completed their first airdrop for providing access to your compute resources snapshot window for airdrop. Requires having good computer hardware so inaccessible to most people and most people are scared when they see that they have to install docker, download a file and copy a line of text and run it. That one is looking to be worth thousands to tens of thousands for airdrop earners More active is games. The last very major one was Pixels which is a game on Ronin. Wild Forest, another Ronin chain video game just did a season of play for airdrop. I imagine those that played that game over the past year rather than just last month are going to get a value at least in the 4 figure US dollar range of tokens and the value of the game unit NFTs they have. Other ones I'm aware of currently in play to airdrop or will be in the future. Apeiron, The Machines Arena, Kaidro Clan Battles, Seraph In the Darkness, some Hello Kitty and Ragnorok Online licensed games are upcoming on Ronin. Kaidro or Seraph I think may be Arbitrum or Sui or something. I think Wild Forest is going to have another play for airdrop season. Context for that games userbase is that Wild Forest had 44,013 wallets that played that game though there will be people with multiple accounts and bots Not games are testnet. Do testnet tasks. Run a testnet node for new chains like Subspace. Testnet DApps usage aren't as lucrative as 2021. It's all about mainnet activity for airdrops now. Subspace may be good though as that's a new chain entirely but requires hardware to farm testnet coins that'll translate to mainnet at some ratio It's worth it

CointestMod

#TRON Pro-Arguments Below is a TRON pro-argument written by a deleted user. > ##**PROs** > > **Disclaimer**: There is little reliable information about Tron that isn't from Tron DAO or Justin Sun interviews. The official [Tron DAO Medium](https://trondao.medium.com/) site doesn't provide links to sources in the blog, making it harder to fact check and analyze. Many of its sources are from Weibo posts that are inaccessible beyond the Great Firewall of China. Tron's documentation and community posts provide way less information than that of other major blockchain projects. Nevertheless, I'm make do with what I can get. > > ####**Performance and Consensus** > > **High throughput and fast finality** > > Blocks are produced every 3s with a max size of 2M bytes. Consensus is completed using DPoS with a fault tolerance of 70% (9/27) Super Respresentatives that act as validators. There are over 350 SR/validator candidates who vote on the 27 SRs each 6 hours. > > - **High Throughtput**: **Tron can reach a max throughput of 2600 TPS with full 2M blocks** and its current balance of actual transactions, which is really high for an EVM-compatible blockchain. > - My calculations used [Tronscan data](https://tronscan.org/#/blockchain/blocks): Basic TRX and token transfers use 250-500 Bandwidth. The current average bandwidth for each transaction is currently 298, which is not that much higher than the lower end for basic transactions. > - Each bandwidth is 0.850 bytes, so you can fit 7800 average transactions in a single 3s block. Tron officially claims that it can reach 2000 TPS, so they're giving a conservative estimate. > - Even filled with 350-550 bandwidth swaps for [SunswapV2Router02](https://tronscan.org/#/contract/TKzxdSv2FZKQrEqkKVgp5DcwEXBEKMg2Ax/transactions), that's 1400 TPS on the lower end. That's way faster swaps than [everything other than Algorand](https://medium.com/dragonfly-research/the-amm-test-a-no-bs-look-at-l1-performance-4c8c2129d581). > - The tradeoff is that consensus is highly centralized (only 27 validators), and that the validators have very high requirements like having 32 CPU cores and 64GB of memory. > - In comparison, Ethereum's Layer 1 in comparison, can only do ~15 TPS average (59 TPS for basic transfers, 7 TPS for Uniswap v3 swaps). > - **Fast Finality in 3s**: All 27 SRs are currently playing friendly with each other, so for all practical purposes, finality is in 3 seconds. (Deterministic finality occurs every 27 blocks, or 81 seconds). > > **Network Energy usage** > > Tron's estimated annual energy usage for 2022 is estimated to be 1.7 kWh, or the **energy usage of [15 average US households](https://decrypt.co/108115/tron-network-energy-use-matches-that-of-15-us-households-ccri-report)**. This puts it slightly lower than the consumption of Avalanche, Algorand, Cardano, and Solana's networks. Its carbon footprint is also 4x lower than the others. And it uses 100000x less energy than Bitcoin. > > ####**Ease of Basic Utility** > > **Transaction fees are covered for FREE by freezing TRX** > > Tron has a unique design for transaction fees instead of using gas. Transactions fees are divided into bandwidth (pays for data bytes) and energy (pays for computations). All transactions require bandwidth while only contracts need energy. > > The benefit is that you get **FREE bandwidth and energy by freezing TRX**, a process similar to staking. You currently receive about 28 energy and 1 bandwidth daily [per frozen TRX](https://tronstation.io/calculator). Basic smart contracts use 350 Bandwidth (requires freezing 330 TRX) and 14.7K energy (requires staking 520 TRX). At current TRX prices, **if you freeze $2500 worth of TRX, you could perform 100 free basic transactions daily**. In addition, each account receives [1.5 kb of bandwidth daily](https://developers.tron.network/docs/resource-model) (originally 5 kb) for free even without freezing TRX, which is good for ~5 transactions. Though I suspect users can abuse this by creating new accounts. > > Any transaction fees in excess of the free energy and bandwidth are burned. This is why TRX is **currently deflationary by ~0.3% annually** (excluding burns for the USDD minting process). > > **Settlement layer for Tether** > > According to Blockchain's [Sep 2022 interview with Justin Sun](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/exploring-tron-with-justin-sun-and-blockchain-com/id1536699961), **the original purpose of Tron was to act as a stablecoin settlement network and reserve network for Tether** (USDT). Sure enough, the bulk of DeFi on Tron's network deal with stablecoins. As of Sep 2022, [45% of Tether is now held on Tron](https://defillama.com/stablecoin/tether). And with Ethereum transaction fees being so high, Tron has become an attractive platform for USDT dApps. > > ####**DeFi Usages** > > **Smart Contracts** > > Tron's VM (TVM) is EVM-compatible and uses Solidity for the smart contract language. It is also Turing-complete. Thus, it's simple to rewrite EVM contracts for TVM. > > - **Tron's [DeFi TVL is massive at $5.4B](https://defillama.com/chains), putting at 3rd place after Binance Smart Chain**. > - Though it is a bit suspicious though that 99% of Tron's DeFi TVL are on 3 projects that are literally named after Justin Sun, though that could just be because it's very new. In comparison, Ethereum's DeFi is spread over hundreds of dApps. > - Tron SUN's [Liquidity Pool](https://sun.io/#/home) provides very high interest for USDD-USDT pairs at 5-70% APY. Back in June-July, you could gain triple-digit APY on Tron DeFi with stablecoins while the governance rewards boosts were still active. > > ####**Sustainable Tokenomics for TRX** > > - TRX's tokenomics have a steady, permanent issuance for validators, so it's **sustainable**. All transaction fees are burned. This isn't too different than Ethereum's tokenomics model (other than that Ethereum only burns part of the fee). > - TRX has a total circulating supply of about 92B, which is noticeably lower than their highest supply of 102B before the TRX-to-USDD minting protocol. TRX suddenly became [deflationary on Oct 27, 2021](https://tronscan.org/#/data/stats2/circulation). Supply has fallen about 10% since then due to token burns, making **TRX one of the most deflationary cryptocurrency in the top 30**. > - If we ignore the token burns from USDD minting, each day, ~5M TRX is minted, ~6M is burned (from transaction fees). **This gives net issuance of 1M TRX burned daily, or 0.3% annual deflation.** > > **Good TRX price action during the bear market** > > Tron's native token, TRX, is currently #15 in marketcap as of Sept 2022 with a [marketcap of $6B](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tron). Its value has held up surprisingly well during the bear market, barely falling 50% while the rest of cryptocurrencies fell closer to 70-90%. **TRX is up 2x vs Bitcoin over the past year** during the bear market, pumping especially hard right around the launch of USDD and introduction of major staking and governance boost projects. > > ####**USDD, a hybrid stablecoin without UST's flaws?** > > **USDD is a hybrid collateralized/algorithmic (seigniorage) stablecoin** launched in May 2022 on Tron's network. It is one of the biggest focuses on the Tron roadmap. It was originally designed as a purely-algorithmic stablecoin based on Terra's now-failed Luna and UST stablecoin. After the collapse of Luna UST, the Tron DAO Reserve (TDR) made several changes to USDD to avoid a similar failure: > > **Differences between UST and USDD** > > 1. The biggest difference is that USDD is 300% collateralized with 11B TRX, 14K BTC, 100M USDT, and 1M USDC [Source](https://usdd.io/). **This makes USDD one of the most collateralized stablecoins.** In comparison, DAI is only 120% collateralized, and USDT and USDC are only 100% collateralized. > 1. TDR controls how much USDD can be minted or redeemed, so it's not purely algorithmic. Thus, TDR has full power to stop it from crashing. > 1. USDD will be released in multiple phases. The current phase only allows for a minting of 2B USDD. This is to limit USDD from growing astronomically quickly like with UST. [[Source](https://trondao.medium.com/improving-usdd-from-lessons-learned-e2600d7f94ad)] > 1. You're probably wondering what's the catch. There is a Peg Stability Module (PSM) that allows minting of USDD by burning TRX. You can current burn TRX for minting USDD, but **you cannot redeem USDD for TRX** [[source](https://twitter.com/TheImmutable/status/1536930692344401921)]. There is no liquidity on any of the [PSM smart contracts](https://docs.usdd.io/psm/the-psm#psm-contracts) to trade USDD for anything else. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_tron) to find submissions for other topics.

No-Investigator-5218

Need some insight as I already started a help ticket on CB wallet. So I saw ETHM was up greatly so I swapped my 787B coins for USDC and balance is only .53, it should have been almost $300K! Am I missing something or is CB wallet messed up? I sure could use that amount right now, any advice or suggestions? Thanks

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by Blendzi0r. > *First published on: \[*[30.09.2021](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/og1s24/rcryptocurrency_cointest_top_10_category_tether/hewpzqt/)*\]* > > *Last edited on: 19.09.2022* > > # Intro > > Tether (USDT) is a digital dollar – a stablecoin pegged to US dollar. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency with a value fixed to other assets (usually assets outside of the cryptocurrency space, e.g. fiat currencies, precious metals, etc.). Their main purposes are: 1) help investors escape the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and 2) allow investors to buy cryptocurrencies on exchanges that do not offer fiat deposits. USDT is currently the largest stablecoin. \[1\], \[2\], \[3\] > > # Pros > > **It’s the most popular and oldest stablecoin** > > Tether was launched in 2014 as Realcoin and renamed to Tether the same year \[1\]. It’s the first successful stablecoin. For many years, it had completely dominated the stablecoins market and despite the recent growth of other stablecoins, mainly USDC, Tether is still the biggest and most popular stablecoin. As of September 2022, its market cap shrinked against USDC's market cap in recent months, but its volume still tends to be much higher (according to coinmarketcap, on 19.09.2022 it was 12x(!) higher). In fact, USDT’s trading volume is unmatched by any other cryptocurrency. \[1\] > > It is also worth pointing out that more than 80% of stablecoins launched in 2015 are now gone and USDT is still here, despite its bad press. \[4\] > > **It has most trading pairs** > > The market cap and volume speak for themselves – Tether is the most popular stablecoin. There are very few exchanges that don’t accept USDT and all major coins have trading pairs with USDT. Even Coinbase, which is responsible for Tether’s rival stablecoin – USDC, lists Tether on its exchange (since May 2021). \[5\] > > It is also backed by several international currencies and, therefore, allows people in different countries purchase coins that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. > > **It was declared dead many times but, just like Bitcoin, it's alive and kicking** > > There are many controversies around Tether. Perhaps the most concerning one is whether USDT has its reserves fully backed. Many critics believe that Tether isn’t fully backed and if many investors were to redeem tethers at the same time, there would be no liquidity \[6\]. Situations when people redeem tokens en masse usually should happen during market crashes. In the last 4 years we had three significant market crashes – in 2018, in March 2020 and in May 2021. USDT survived all of them. > > It has also survived losing almost 25% of its market cap in a short time - from May to July of this year. > > **The latest breakdowns of the reserves is a step in the right direction** > > Tether had been criticized for lack of transparency (and rightly so) for many years. In May 2021, for the first time since 2014, Tether finally gave us an insight into their reserves. The first report was rather disappointing as it turned out that barely 3% of the reserves are made-up by cash. Moreover, 65% of the reserves were made-up by commercial paper and there were no details about the type of the commercial paper. \[7\] > > However, the reports from August and December 2021 looked much better \[8\]: cash and cash equivalents made up more than 80% of the reserves, more than 10% of which were cash and bank deposits, +/- 30% were treasure bills (they are considered very safe assets) and they provided more details – the reports included information about the rating and breakdown of maturity of the commercial paper and certificates of deposit. The reports were on pair with those of USDC. > > **USDT is centralized. But is it so bad in the case of a stablecoin?** > > Decentralization is essential for cryptocurrency. But so is replacing fiat. So is decentralization that important in the case of a stablecoin? > > The fact that USDT is centralized also allowed it to do good things on many occasions. It returned USDT sent to wrong addresses and cooperated with law enforcement officials and blocked/froze addresses that used USDT for illegal activities. \[9\], \[10\] > > ^(Sources:) > > ^(\[01\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)) > > ^(\[02\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > ^(\[03\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin) > > ^(\[04\])[^(https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\\\\id=3835219)](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\id=3835219) > > ^(\[05\]) [^(https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2)](https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2) > > ^(\[06\]) [^(https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin)](https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin) > > ^(\[07\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf) > > ^(\[08\]) [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > ^(\[09\]) [^(https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt)](https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt) > > ^(\[10\]) [^(https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/)](https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

Robstreicher

Cash app then I went to Coinbase advanced. I like Coinbase’s interface and 5.1% on USDC

panduh9228

Oh no, you still don't see the problem! Not trying to twist the knife but hopefully can help you avoid a similar mistake. Daily limit wasn't the issue. It was inherently doomed regardless. The issue was that UST was not backed by Luna, it was backed by the Luna LPs. Specifically the "hard" asset sides of them like USDC and ETH. If there was say 30b UST out but only 8b of TVL in the LPs, that means there was only 4b of actual assets backing 30b UST. Daily limit on the redemption mechanism was a moot point.

JimmyChitwoodMVP

The Fed *controls the global supply of money*, they are a self funded, independent organization. The President of the Fed is appointed and reports to the President of the United States. The Fed’s balance sheet is just over 7 Trillion USD that is generating all sorts of interest, thus the Tether/USDC on steroids comment.

JimmyChitwoodMVP

Just take a look at their balance sheet. They’re like Tether and USDC on steroids!

toshiromiballza

USDC/USDT "staking" will also become unsupported. That sucks, hope this won't eventually apply to the rest of EU.

DoinIt989

That makes 0 sense. You pay $1 to buy the USDC.

mvea

**Mod update:** 1. Join the AMA & Giveaway with Moby on May 8th - Discover more about On-Chain Options Trading. Moby will give away **3,000 USDC in total to the best 10 questions** asked in this AMA! Click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1cmgk0s/join_the_ama_giveaway_with_moby_on_may_8th/)! 2. Special memberships have returned where users burn moons to be allowed custom flairs and GIFs across our CC subs using NFTs and the blockchain. Click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrencyMoons/s/LQvCnhPUV7)!

_BannedAcctSpeedrun_

Why would I use btc like a currency when it’s mainly a storage of value due to the fact it’s a limited and deflationary asset. Do you pay for things in solid gold coins? If I’m paying for something in crypto it’s probably USDC on a crypto card, or XMR buying things I probably can’t mention here.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

j0lla127

What is the best way to sell crypto and take profit? If all the cryptos reached ATH (or while it's going up), does that mean the individual would have to convert all the crypto into USDC or USD (so you don't lose the value when crypto dips) and then withdraw daily/weekly to the bank account? Would this be the ideal and best way to sell crypto and transfer the funds back to the bank account?

Trade_on_Moby

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graytleapforward

Then what's holding back the implementation of USDC if it's not Hoskinson?. It's plug and play liquidity and in my opinion vitally important for the ecosystem. If we don't get a massive injection of TVL in the next few months ADA will become redundant.

graytleapforward

Not without USDC. Every project on ADA is starving for liquidity. Hoskinson needs to be cut out of the project now, his ego is killing it. The big risk is that if ADA doesn't reach or significantly beat it's all time high this bullrun most holders will move on.

MooflyPoof

Wait, so if i transfer from trust wallet to coinbase and leave my money in USDC for the 5% apy i have to pay taxes? Help a noob out please

mvea

**Mod update:** 1. Join the AMA & Giveaway with Moby on May 8th - Discover more about On-Chain Options Trading. Moby will give away **3,000 USDC in total to the best 10 questions** asked in this AMA! Click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/1cmgk0s/join_the_ama_giveaway_with_moby_on_may_8th/)! 2. Special memberships are about to launch where users burn moons to be allowed custom flairs and GIFs across our CC subs using NFTs and the blockchain - wait for it!

DigitylRise

In coinbase they treat a transfer in as a buy and transfer out as a sell. I've deposited USDC before and in my record it said I had all these USDC buys, then when I withdrew some USDC it treated them as sells.

Django_McFly

This is how Coinbase works. I primarily buy stablecoins on a CEX, withdraw to my wallet, and use DEXs to get what I want. Coinbase shows me as having bought a bunch of USDC at $0 and withdrawing/selling it @ $1.

purplecowz

Lol you must be joking, USDC is 5.1%, 20% is not abnormal for crypto APR

CointestMod

#Tether Con-Arguments Below is a Tether con-argument written by a deleted user. > **Tether Cons** > > **Dodgy Reserves** > > Initially, Tether asserted that each USDT was backed by a dollar in its reserves. But the truth is more nuanced, Tether is supported by a variety of: > > * Other Investments (Including Digital Tokens): 8.36% > > * Secured Loans(None To Affiliated Entities): 6.77% > > * Corporate Bonds, Funds & Precious Metals: 5.25% > > * Cash & Cash Equivalents & Other Short-Term Deposits & Commercial Paper: 79.62% > > Of the 79% cash and cash equivalents, only 10.25% is held in cash. Also to be emphasized is the lack of an independent audit of the specific breakdown of Tether's reserves. > > **Regulatory Issues** > > The Paradise Papers dump in 2017 revealed that Bitfinex and Tether are both controlled by the same individuals. The Bitfinex trading platform's owners, who also manage the tether virtual currency, have participated in a cover-up to conceal the apparent loss of $850 million dollars, according to the investigation conducted by the New York state Attorney General. Later, Tether's attorney acknowledged that only 74% of the Tether is backed. Tether is forbidden from conducting business in New York under the terms of the settlement agreement. Despite paying a $18 million punishment, Bitfinex and Tether did not confess any wrongdoing. > > **Competitors** > > * USDC: Circle and Coinbase launched USDC in 2018, and it is tied 1:1 to the US dollar. Issuers are also required to back all tokens with fiat reserves and provide monthly proof of reserves in order to guarantee that USDC maintains a continual one-to-one backing. > > * BUSD: BUSD is a stablecoin backed by USD that is 1:1 secure, compliant, and supported by Binance. It was created by Paxos and has NYDFS approval. To preserve the stability and security of the stablecoin, Paxos hires an auditing company to examine its BUSD and US Dollar supply each month. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by Blendzi0r. > *First published on: \[*[30.09.2021](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/og1s24/rcryptocurrency_cointest_top_10_category_tether/hewpzqt/)*\]* > > *Last edited on: 19.09.2022* > > # Intro > > Tether (USDT) is a digital dollar – a stablecoin pegged to US dollar. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency with a value fixed to other assets (usually assets outside of the cryptocurrency space, e.g. fiat currencies, precious metals, etc.). Their main purposes are: 1) help investors escape the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and 2) allow investors to buy cryptocurrencies on exchanges that do not offer fiat deposits. USDT is currently the largest stablecoin. \[1\], \[2\], \[3\] > > # Pros > > **It’s the most popular and oldest stablecoin** > > Tether was launched in 2014 as Realcoin and renamed to Tether the same year \[1\]. It’s the first successful stablecoin. For many years, it had completely dominated the stablecoins market and despite the recent growth of other stablecoins, mainly USDC, Tether is still the biggest and most popular stablecoin. As of September 2022, its market cap shrinked against USDC's market cap in recent months, but its volume still tends to be much higher (according to coinmarketcap, on 19.09.2022 it was 12x(!) higher). In fact, USDT’s trading volume is unmatched by any other cryptocurrency. \[1\] > > It is also worth pointing out that more than 80% of stablecoins launched in 2015 are now gone and USDT is still here, despite its bad press. \[4\] > > **It has most trading pairs** > > The market cap and volume speak for themselves – Tether is the most popular stablecoin. There are very few exchanges that don’t accept USDT and all major coins have trading pairs with USDT. Even Coinbase, which is responsible for Tether’s rival stablecoin – USDC, lists Tether on its exchange (since May 2021). \[5\] > > It is also backed by several international currencies and, therefore, allows people in different countries purchase coins that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. > > **It was declared dead many times but, just like Bitcoin, it's alive and kicking** > > There are many controversies around Tether. Perhaps the most concerning one is whether USDT has its reserves fully backed. Many critics believe that Tether isn’t fully backed and if many investors were to redeem tethers at the same time, there would be no liquidity \[6\]. Situations when people redeem tokens en masse usually should happen during market crashes. In the last 4 years we had three significant market crashes – in 2018, in March 2020 and in May 2021. USDT survived all of them. > > It has also survived losing almost 25% of its market cap in a short time - from May to July of this year. > > **The latest breakdowns of the reserves is a step in the right direction** > > Tether had been criticized for lack of transparency (and rightly so) for many years. In May 2021, for the first time since 2014, Tether finally gave us an insight into their reserves. The first report was rather disappointing as it turned out that barely 3% of the reserves are made-up by cash. Moreover, 65% of the reserves were made-up by commercial paper and there were no details about the type of the commercial paper. \[7\] > > However, the reports from August and December 2021 looked much better \[8\]: cash and cash equivalents made up more than 80% of the reserves, more than 10% of which were cash and bank deposits, +/- 30% were treasure bills (they are considered very safe assets) and they provided more details – the reports included information about the rating and breakdown of maturity of the commercial paper and certificates of deposit. The reports were on pair with those of USDC. > > **USDT is centralized. But is it so bad in the case of a stablecoin?** > > Decentralization is essential for cryptocurrency. But so is replacing fiat. So is decentralization that important in the case of a stablecoin? > > The fact that USDT is centralized also allowed it to do good things on many occasions. It returned USDT sent to wrong addresses and cooperated with law enforcement officials and blocked/froze addresses that used USDT for illegal activities. \[9\], \[10\] > > ^(Sources:) > > ^(\[01\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)) > > ^(\[02\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > ^(\[03\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin) > > ^(\[04\])[^(https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\\\\id=3835219)](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\id=3835219) > > ^(\[05\]) [^(https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2)](https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2) > > ^(\[06\]) [^(https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin)](https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin) > > ^(\[07\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf) > > ^(\[08\]) [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > ^(\[09\]) [^(https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt)](https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt) > > ^(\[10\]) [^(https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/)](https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

graytleapforward

XRP is in a death spiral. Ripple will ultimately switch to a stable coin for remittance. ADA desperately needs USDC to improve it's starving ecosystem, but at least there's a chance of that. XRP has no chance

banejacked

can someone help explain the staking details for me. I ask because a few months ago I staked 1000 us dollars to USDC on coinbase and it says its at 5.10%. Well I am only receiving 5 dollars a month from it. 5% of 1000 is 50 dollars. Why am I only getting .05% instead of 5%? im sure coinbase is doing everything correct but I would just like to understand where my thinking went wrong.

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by CreepToeCurrentSea. > [USDT](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) is a stablecoin (stable-value cryptocurrency) issued by Tether, a Hong Kong-based company. The token is pegged to the USD by keeping reserves of commercial paper, fiduciary deposits, cash, reserve repo notes, and treasury bills equal to the number of USDT in circulation. Initially named as Realcoin, a second-layer cryptocurrency token built on top of Bitcoin's blockchain using the Omni platform, it was later renamed USTether and, finally, USDT. In addition to Bitcoin, USDT was later updated to work on the Ethereum, EOS, Tron, Algorand, and OMG blockchains. > > # PROs > > **USDT is well established** > > It has built a long history of resilience, reliability and trust because it has been around for a [while](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) (around 8 years in the cryptocurrency market). This had helped to convince clients that the stablecoin is [legitimate](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink). > > As of this year, USDT currently is in the top ten cryptocurrencies by [market cap](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) with a 24-hour trading volume of around 45 billion dollars and a total number of addresses of up to 4.5 million. In its last known [audit](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) in 2021 it has been considered to have *"No vulnerabilities with critical, high, medium or low-severity."* > > **Wide acceptance** > > Tether has multiple gateways for customers (retail, exchanges, and companies) because it is built on several leading [blockchains](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols), including Algorand, Avalanche, Bitcoin Cash's Simple Ledger Protocol (SLP), Ethereum, EOS, Liquid Network, Omni, Polygon, Tezos, Tron, Solana, and Statemine. These transport protocols are made up of open source software that interfaces with blockchains to allow for the issuance and redemption of Tether tokens. > > Furthermore, it has been available on major exchanges such as Bitfinex, Binance, Coinbase, Kraken and [more](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets), Offering a plethora of pairs for users to choose from or that of which is available in their region although as of lately some exchanges have been switching to Circle's USDC over growing concerns of legal issues related with Tether. > > **Buffer against volatility** > > One of the primary functions of stablecoins is to act as a [hedge](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) when crypto markets are in a downturn. Because the aforementioned market is extremely volatile, traders and investors want some sort of buffer against this without having to directly trade their crypto for fiat as to also avoid larger fees as well. Supported by its large market capitalization, USDT should be less volatile and thus safer. > > **Announcement of a full audit** > > Tether's CTO Paolo Ardoino recently stated in an [interview](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) with Euromoney that the company is preparing for a full audit with an accounting firm called MHA Cayman (which also handles Tether's [quarterly assurance opinions/reports](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf)). According to the CTO in the interview, MHA Cayman is one of the "*top 12*" accounting firms, and most top accounting firms deny requests for full audits due to the associated reputational risks. In the future, hopefully, this will provide more security and transparency to its users against the number of allegations and investigations it is currently facing. > > **Despite everything, USDT is still here** > > From the past legal troubles it has faced, the ones it's facing right now, the vast amount of criticisms from different facets off the internet and the several crypto winters it endured. USDT is still alive and kicking. Will it still be the top stablecoin in the next 5 years? Unlikely, but I am for certain it was a major part for the growth and expansion of crypto's fetal years. Moving forward it's up to them, the people behind Tether, if they will finally redeem themselves against all the allegations, criticisms, troubles, and not just do another settlement. > > ^(Sources:) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/faqs/)](https://tether.to/en/faqs/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols)](https://tether.to/en/supported-protocols) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/) > > [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether\_(cryptocurrency))](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether_(cryptocurrency)) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/5UWgHMvz071t2Cq5yTw5vi/c9798ea8db99311bf90ebe0810938b01/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > [^(https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780)](https://www.wsj.com/articles/BL-MBB-23780) > > [^(https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm\_source=CMC&utm\_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink)](https://www.certik.com/projects/tether?utm_source=CMC&utm_campaign=AuditByCertiKLink) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether) > > [^(https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf)](https://www.fairyproof.com/doc/111.pdf) > > [^(https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets)](https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/tether#markets) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986\_Are\_stablecoins\_truly\_diversifiers\_hedges\_or\_safe\_havens\_against\_traditional\_cryptocurrencies\_as\_their\_name\_suggests)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341245986_Are_stablecoins_truly_diversifiers_hedges_or_safe_havens_against_traditional_cryptocurrencies_as_their_name_suggests) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534\_What\_is\_Stablecoin\_A\_Survey\_on\_Price\_Stabilization\_Mechanisms\_for\_Decentralized\_Payment\_Systems)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/339263534_What_is_Stablecoin_A_Survey_on_Price_Stabilization_Mechanisms_for_Decentralized_Payment_Systems) > > [^(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820\_Is\_Cryptocurrency\_a\_Hedge\_or\_a\_Safe\_Haven\_for\_International\_Indices\_A\_Comprehensive\_and\_Dynamic\_Perspective)](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332458820_Is_Cryptocurrency_a_Hedge_or_a_Safe_Haven_for_International_Indices_A_Comprehensive_and_Dynamic_Perspective) > > [^(https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information)](https://www.euromoney.com/article/2a8dpi4tnxahuu98a251c/fintech/cryptocurrencies-tether-is-open-to-providing-more-information) > > [^(https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether\_Assurance\_Consolidated\_Reserves\_Report\_2022-03-31\_\_3\_.pdf)](https://assets.ctfassets.net/vyse88cgwfbl/1np5dpcwuHrWJ4AgUgI3Vn/e0dac722de3cea07766e05c52773748b/Tether_Assurance_Consolidated_Reserves_Report_2022-03-31__3_.pdf) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

Somebody__Online

Sure I can help you understand. At its core crypto is just a distributed ledger. It’s a list of transactions that are organized chronologically and everyone’s version of this list updates wherever any legitimate transaction is made. Almost like a shared google doc but no one can make fake updates unless everyone agrees to add them. Crypto tokens are units that can be transacted on this ledger. That’s pretty much it. The tokens can represent a whole lot of things, from money to voting right in an exchange to just ownership of a monkey jpg. There’s tokens like USDC, DAI, FRAX, and USDT that track with $1 and are always worth $1 per tokens. There’s tokens like Bitcoin which are just digital units on a publicly maintained ledger. There is only 21million of them total so their value proposition comes from its verifiable scarcity in the supply and demand game. ETH is a utility token that lets you pay for the execution of programmed actions directly on its blockchain. That can be making a trade, creating a token, sending a token, creating liquidity positions, ect. You can invest into crypto by buying BTC and ETH tokens and having exposure to their price action but you can also buy USDC or other dollar backed assets and not be exposed to the price moves of crypto assets. You can use these tokens to participate in DeFi. You can supply to liquidity pools that facilitate trading or you can supply to money markets that earn interest from collateralized loans on the blockchain with no middle men. There’s a lot you can do from simple trading of tokens up to market making leveraged derivative markets. It’s all part of crypto

at235

That’s what ima do, once the bull hits enough of a all time high on my projects and I don’t wanna risk the bottom, I’ll transfer it all to USDC and make 5% on it while I wait

No-Personality4380

Move to private key, don’t convert to USDC, keep going to work and at 100k file and run. She’s got a great plan!!

ChristianGreenland

I would say no. There's an professional crypto hedge fund trader on twitter (Asian guy, but forgot is handle) who did a detail quantitively analysis in 2021 or 2022. He concluded that the fees are too low for LPs to make money. Basically, the tx fees are so low DEX users are incentive to Arb LPs pools thus leaving them hold the weaker asset in volatile markets. Tactically, there's only two possible scenarios that would minimize loss. But the opp cost of leaving capital sitting earning 0.01% is not worth it:: 1/ For limit orders where you don't have a time horizon. For example, I want to swap USDC for USDT and a fix price and I'm indifferent to when the order executes. But again, I can set a limit order on Matcha, CowSwap, or 1 Inch. 2/ Assets were the is no effective IL or IL doesn't matter. For example, USDC/ USDC.e pools because if you have a Coinbase account, they will redeem either for $1 USD. But again, fees are too low (LT 0.01%) to make it worth while parking capital there.

Wayne

I have a decent about in a LP involving two stable coins (USDC/STAR) on Base. It auto-compounds and makes a couple of dollars a day right now. 🤷🏽 Nothing to retire on but it's much lower risk and grows faster than a regular bank account.

Wayne

I have a decent about in a LP involving two stable coins (USDC/STAR) on Base. It auto-compounds and makes a couple of dollars a day right now. 🤷🏽 Nothing to retire on but it's much lower risk and grows faster than a regular bank account.

Ozmodiar

The fake USDC is a contract they created. Since they created it, they can program who can send the tokens however they want. With real ERC20 tokens, only the owner and any address you've given spending permission can send them. The fake ones don't follow the ERC20 standard. You can program almost anything you like in a smart contract.

BroadProfessional755

Get a phantom wallet, buy usdc crypto with moonpay. Have the USDC ready to swap on Jupiter to the coin that you think will go up. Best advice is wait for a day when the marked is down on all crypto, when it starts to level out swap your usdc and then play the waiting game. If you want to be safe and invest in less volatile crypto you can but less risk equals less rewards. Some cryptocurrency is backed by gold or other precious metals. I’m gambling with meme coins, mainly ones that are backed by a YouTuber. I bought a few thousand dollars worth of HAMI on the last dip and I’m doing fairly well currently.

beIIe-and-sebastian

I wonder if that fake USDC has clawback provision in the contract?

suninabox

> I was just giving an explanation why Tether has such a high market cap compared to USDC. And I was just pointing out "they're printing billions of tethers from nothing and loaning them to shady exchanges" is a completely separate explanation from "other stablecoins charge less for withdrawals". That Tether charge more for redemptions is just a mitigating factor that helps prevent runs on Tether. It's not the cause. Tethers have to be printed in the first place, and the explanation for why way more Tether's are printed than other stablecoins isn't "a bunch of people trust them with their USD". The likes of Celsius, FTX etc don't need to worry about trusting Tether in the first place because they're not making USD deposits. This prospective lawsuit [seems to indicate that Tether was loaning Tether to FTX on credit, who then sold it for a profit on their exchanges to then deposit USD with Tether to cover the credit](https://beincrypto.com/ftx-deltec-tether-usdt-trading/) The risk is all externalized to bagholders who are being manipulated by wash trading into paying slightly more than $1 and accepting slightly less than $1 for Tethers.

WoodenInformation730

Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending Tether. I was just giving an explanation why Tether has such a high market cap compared to USDC. Tether doesn't need to worry about huge redemptions as long as there's cheaper alternatives like Circle.

Jaster-Mereel

Can someone help me pls? Need to figure out how to get USDC from the Solana network to Cronos to buy Cro. Thanks!

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by Blendzi0r. > *First published on: \[*[30.09.2021](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/og1s24/rcryptocurrency_cointest_top_10_category_tether/hewpzqt/)*\]* > > *Last edited on: 19.09.2022* > > # Intro > > Tether (USDT) is a digital dollar – a stablecoin pegged to US dollar. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency with a value fixed to other assets (usually assets outside of the cryptocurrency space, e.g. fiat currencies, precious metals, etc.). Their main purposes are: 1) help investors escape the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and 2) allow investors to buy cryptocurrencies on exchanges that do not offer fiat deposits. USDT is currently the largest stablecoin. \[1\], \[2\], \[3\] > > # Pros > > **It’s the most popular and oldest stablecoin** > > Tether was launched in 2014 as Realcoin and renamed to Tether the same year \[1\]. It’s the first successful stablecoin. For many years, it had completely dominated the stablecoins market and despite the recent growth of other stablecoins, mainly USDC, Tether is still the biggest and most popular stablecoin. As of September 2022, its market cap shrinked against USDC's market cap in recent months, but its volume still tends to be much higher (according to coinmarketcap, on 19.09.2022 it was 12x(!) higher). In fact, USDT’s trading volume is unmatched by any other cryptocurrency. \[1\] > > It is also worth pointing out that more than 80% of stablecoins launched in 2015 are now gone and USDT is still here, despite its bad press. \[4\] > > **It has most trading pairs** > > The market cap and volume speak for themselves – Tether is the most popular stablecoin. There are very few exchanges that don’t accept USDT and all major coins have trading pairs with USDT. Even Coinbase, which is responsible for Tether’s rival stablecoin – USDC, lists Tether on its exchange (since May 2021). \[5\] > > It is also backed by several international currencies and, therefore, allows people in different countries purchase coins that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. > > **It was declared dead many times but, just like Bitcoin, it's alive and kicking** > > There are many controversies around Tether. Perhaps the most concerning one is whether USDT has its reserves fully backed. Many critics believe that Tether isn’t fully backed and if many investors were to redeem tethers at the same time, there would be no liquidity \[6\]. Situations when people redeem tokens en masse usually should happen during market crashes. In the last 4 years we had three significant market crashes – in 2018, in March 2020 and in May 2021. USDT survived all of them. > > It has also survived losing almost 25% of its market cap in a short time - from May to July of this year. > > **The latest breakdowns of the reserves is a step in the right direction** > > Tether had been criticized for lack of transparency (and rightly so) for many years. In May 2021, for the first time since 2014, Tether finally gave us an insight into their reserves. The first report was rather disappointing as it turned out that barely 3% of the reserves are made-up by cash. Moreover, 65% of the reserves were made-up by commercial paper and there were no details about the type of the commercial paper. \[7\] > > However, the reports from August and December 2021 looked much better \[8\]: cash and cash equivalents made up more than 80% of the reserves, more than 10% of which were cash and bank deposits, +/- 30% were treasure bills (they are considered very safe assets) and they provided more details – the reports included information about the rating and breakdown of maturity of the commercial paper and certificates of deposit. The reports were on pair with those of USDC. > > **USDT is centralized. But is it so bad in the case of a stablecoin?** > > Decentralization is essential for cryptocurrency. But so is replacing fiat. So is decentralization that important in the case of a stablecoin? > > The fact that USDT is centralized also allowed it to do good things on many occasions. It returned USDT sent to wrong addresses and cooperated with law enforcement officials and blocked/froze addresses that used USDT for illegal activities. \[9\], \[10\] > > ^(Sources:) > > ^(\[01\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)) > > ^(\[02\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > ^(\[03\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin) > > ^(\[04\])[^(https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\\\\id=3835219)](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\id=3835219) > > ^(\[05\]) [^(https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2)](https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2) > > ^(\[06\]) [^(https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin)](https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin) > > ^(\[07\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf) > > ^(\[08\]) [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > ^(\[09\]) [^(https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt)](https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt) > > ^(\[10\]) [^(https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/)](https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

ClassicMain

Ah yes. 0 arguments, just calling it a scam. Hatom is the top money market of the MultiversX network. 200m+ TVL, existed for more than a year, 7 times audited including an audit from reputable Runtime Environment and many others. Battle tested And they even had 3 Pentests. Yield comes from borrowers and an incentive program (the USDC). Please explain how it is a scam before, like many do, light-heartedly throwing around the word scam like they do everywhere. So many people nowadays just call everything a scam even though it isn't. I hate it. Why? Why do you do this?

ClassicMain

Only 20%??? Get away with those rookie numbers. 😴 Bridge your TAO to hatom.com protocol instead. 7 times audited, battle tested, 200m+ TVL, real yield. 30% APR on STAKED TAO (so actually 50% APR) Paid in TAO and USDC (which you can swap to TAO of course) Real yield. No gimmicks. No risk. Or you can provide liquidity in the stablepool JWLTAO-TAO on ashswap.io and earn super high yield apr (starting next week).

Odd-Helicopter2201

but the base value of each token is based off solana " solana can be based of USDC, USDT etc.. solana is DEFI the shitcoins are clandestin entities accessing the system in an unfavorable way.

Somebody__Online

Crypto currency assets. There’s all sorts of tokenized assets to trade. You can buy and sell ETH or BtC If you prefer cash backed assets there USDC which is 1:1 with the dollar. If you want to buy monkey pictures on the blockchain for some reason you can do that too. It’s also way beyond buying and selling if you read my other comment where someone asked why they would not use an exchange.

suninabox

So people put 4x more money into Tether, because they charge more than USDC?

CointestMod

#CBDC Con-Arguments Below is a CBDC con-argument written by noxtrifle. > CBDCs are not much different from cryptocurrencies, and are digital, governmentally-issued tokens that are pegged to the value of the specific currency. Think of them like USDT or USDC, but highly regulated and centralized. This is why CBDCs have several flaws, including: > > * **Possible ban of cryptocurrencies** > * As a country implements its own CBDC, it is possible that they will simultaneously ban cryptocurrencies as an alternative means of payment, meaning that residents may be locked into using the CBDC, and nothing else. > * **Lack of privacy** > * CBDCs are fully trackable (and controllable) by the country's government, which raises concerns for users' privacy and financial autonomy. If a more authoritarian government was involved, the chances exist that the government uses citizens' personal data for malicious purposes. Even the notion that their transactions are directly trackable by the government may deter many from using CBDCs at all, diminishing their practicality if not all will use it. > * The UK's [House of Lords](https://www.omfif.org/2022/01/uk-parliament-reluctant-to-embrace-retail-cbdc/) and [US Senators](https://www.cruz.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/sen-cruz-introduces-legislation-prohibiting-unilateral-fed-control-of-a-us-digital-currency) Chuck Grassley, Ted Cruz, and Mike Braun also see privacy as a major concern for CBDCs, even though both countries do not have any definite, immediate plans to launch a CBDC. > * This could also give birth to a system where governments can restrict individuals' or companies' access to the monetary system for any dissent against the government, and combining CBDCs with something like China's social credit system would worsen the already-severe privacy issues in certain countries. > * **Centralisation** > * As opposed to cryptocurrencies, which in most cases are decentralized, CBDCs in their current form are fully controlled by the government or central bank. > * Without decentralization, CBDCs bring back into question many of the problems that cryptocurrencies seek to solve: including double-spending, hackers, and malicious actors. > * Data breaches are also a severe issue: unlike in the cryptocurrency space where a hacker can only gain access to one's funds, with CBDCs they can steal numerous other sensitive details including one's bank details, address, and identity as they will all likely be linked to one's CBDC account. > * **Monetary Policy Concerns** > * While CBDCs will allow governments to collect taxes and track expenditure with ease, they are also a dangerous tool in times of economic concern. > * Take the present day, for instance. Instead of raising the cash rate to decrease expenditure, governments could easily diminish citizens' accounts by a certain amount or vice versa, likely leading to rapid deflation or inflation. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_CBDC) to find submissions for other topics.

CointestMod

#DeFi Pro-Arguments Below is a DeFi pro-argument written by noxtrifle. > DeFi, or decentralized finance, is a method of transacting without the need for an intermediary, and in many ways replaces the traditional banking systems. Instead, a smart contract at the core of the app manages the whole system. Since it is the code, instead of a central authority, which manages the system, decentralisation is ensured. Thus, there are several benefits of DeFi protocols: > > * **Not subject to the limitations of traditional banking** > * [The only barriers to entrance of DeFi](https://cointelegraph.com/defi-101/defi-a-comprehensive-guide-to-decentralized-finance) are an internet connection and a crypto wallet. With just those two, one can access staking, lending, borrowing, and trading; among many more. > * Furthermore, since DeFi is governed by a smart contract and (generally) has no downtime, users are able to access their DeFi balances around the clock, without waiting for the tedious processes of, for example, waiting for a bank to open, applying for a loan, having a discussion with a loan officer, and being accepted. With DeFi, all this can be done in mere seconds. > * **Much more attractive rates for investors** > * Currently, the yield for staking or lending cryptocurrencies on DeFi is [generally above 3-4%](https://www.ecb.europa.eu\/pub/financial-stability/macroprudential-bulletin/focus/2022/html/ecb.mpbu202207_focus1.en.html), which is higher than the interest rates of most developed countries — making DeFi protocols attractive for investors who want all the benefits of cryptocurrencies along with the security offered by traditional banks. > * Stablecoins such as USDC and USDT have even higher yields (5-6% on average) and offer the same stability as the US Dollar, making DeFi rewards more attractive than most large banks. > * This results in the immediate rewarding of the most generous protocol: as more people become aware of the high yields offered, the protocol grows in size and is able to offer more services. However, such expansion will certainly cause yields to decrease. > * **Numerous use cases** > * **These include:** > * **Traditional transacting:** peer-to-peer transfers of capital are already facilitated by cryptocurrencies, and some projects [like Flexa](https://flexa.network/currencies/) allow for off-chain, in-house transfers at little to no cost. > * **Decentralized exchanges:** Decentralised exchanges, such as dYdX and Pancakeswap, provide the exact functionality of centralised exchanges, except that KYC is not required and a smart contract governs all functionality. > * **Stablecoins:** DeFi protocols give stablecoins new meaning by allowing them to be staked or lent for interest, which has very likely benefitted stablecoin adoption immensely. > * **NFTs, Yield Harvesting, Liquidity Providing, and many more.** ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_defi) to find submissions for other topics.

WoodenInformation730

I read somewhere that the USDt redemption fee is higher than the one for USDC. If a company wants to redeem some of their USDt holdings for USD, it's more economical to swap into USDC first and then redeem that. As a consequence, Tether's market cap will grow, while that of USDC continuously shrinks.

Jesskn0wsbest

So, I think it was because I have much of my USDC alotted to one-time buys for bitcoin dips. And while the USDC is still USDC it is “spoken for” by the future one-time buys. I put some more in my USDC and problem solved. (Still doesn’t account for 1969 lol)

suninabox

>USDC also has more reserves than liabilities and they are exclusively cash and cash equivalents This is one of the biggest blows to the "Tether has gone legit, ignore the blatant fraud in their recent past" narrative. If we're meant to believe Tether going from 1 billion in reserves to 110 billion is purely a result of legitimate demand for a stablecoin, and all the fraud and secret fractional reserve banking is in the past, why would so much more money be going into Tether than stablecoins that don't have such a terrible record of embezzling funds and lying to their customers? That could perhaps be a viable explanation if the whole stablecoin market was huge and legit stablecoins had grown by even more (rising tide lifting all boats), but for Tether to be market leader and have nearly 4x the market cap of the next biggest stablecoin, its not believable that all the legit money in the market decided to make Tether the biggest game in town.

Jesskn0wsbest

Yeah, that’s weird as well. When I go to customer support within the app, it asks me to log back in, but the rest of the page won’t load. Thought that maybe I needed to update the app, but it’s up-to-date. I tried to resolve the payment issue by paying with my bank account which is linked, and it was asking me to enter my bank account information. Which was sus I tried a few times to process it again, using my USDC rather than putting my bank account information in again. (mind you I’ve been on Coinbase since 2019) And it finally went through on the fourth attempt. Looks like I’m finally going to break down and get a cold wallet this weekend. lol

Jesskn0wsbest

Interesting, because this is coming straight from my USDC that I have held with Coinbase. Which has 10k, so way more than enough to cover $100.

Hot_Significance_256

Just checked. Yeah you’re right. 90% cash equivalents is not good IMO. USDC also has more reserves than liabilities and they are exclusively cash and cash equivalents

Traditional_Motor_51

Just swapped $300 worth of USDC for WBTC. It's small but that's the best I can afford right now.

CryptoGod666

Here comes the cope. The big boys are using you all as exit liquidity. It’s quite obvious all the big exchanges are in on it, printing more tether and other stablecoins such as USDC out of thin air and roping in more suckers. Called this happening weeks ago

Little_Number_2579

After a long 3 hour battle, I finally figured out how to withdraw the USDT for Canadians. 1.) Kraken WILL release the hold on your USDT eventually - theres no telling how much time it will take, it took me 3 weeks. 2.) Once Kraken releases it, go onto the Kraken website (NOT THE APP!) and head over to withdrawal. 3.) Get the app KuCoin, signup and verify. 4.) Once you are verified on KuCoin (5 Minutes Max) you can then transfer your USDT from Kraken to KuCoin. 5.) Once the transfer is complete, convert the USDT to USDC (easy) 6.) SEND THE USDC BACK TO KRAKEN 7.) CONVERT THE USDC TO CAD & WITHDRAWAL!! Hope that helps!!!

CointestMod

#Tether Pro-Arguments Below is a Tether pro-argument written by Blendzi0r. > *First published on: \[*[30.09.2021](https://np.reddit.com/r/CryptoCurrency/comments/og1s24/rcryptocurrency_cointest_top_10_category_tether/hewpzqt/)*\]* > > *Last edited on: 19.09.2022* > > # Intro > > Tether (USDT) is a digital dollar – a stablecoin pegged to US dollar. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency with a value fixed to other assets (usually assets outside of the cryptocurrency space, e.g. fiat currencies, precious metals, etc.). Their main purposes are: 1) help investors escape the volatility of the cryptocurrency market and 2) allow investors to buy cryptocurrencies on exchanges that do not offer fiat deposits. USDT is currently the largest stablecoin. \[1\], \[2\], \[3\] > > # Pros > > **It’s the most popular and oldest stablecoin** > > Tether was launched in 2014 as Realcoin and renamed to Tether the same year \[1\]. It’s the first successful stablecoin. For many years, it had completely dominated the stablecoins market and despite the recent growth of other stablecoins, mainly USDC, Tether is still the biggest and most popular stablecoin. As of September 2022, its market cap shrinked against USDC's market cap in recent months, but its volume still tends to be much higher (according to coinmarketcap, on 19.09.2022 it was 12x(!) higher). In fact, USDT’s trading volume is unmatched by any other cryptocurrency. \[1\] > > It is also worth pointing out that more than 80% of stablecoins launched in 2015 are now gone and USDT is still here, despite its bad press. \[4\] > > **It has most trading pairs** > > The market cap and volume speak for themselves – Tether is the most popular stablecoin. There are very few exchanges that don’t accept USDT and all major coins have trading pairs with USDT. Even Coinbase, which is responsible for Tether’s rival stablecoin – USDC, lists Tether on its exchange (since May 2021). \[5\] > > It is also backed by several international currencies and, therefore, allows people in different countries purchase coins that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. > > **It was declared dead many times but, just like Bitcoin, it's alive and kicking** > > There are many controversies around Tether. Perhaps the most concerning one is whether USDT has its reserves fully backed. Many critics believe that Tether isn’t fully backed and if many investors were to redeem tethers at the same time, there would be no liquidity \[6\]. Situations when people redeem tokens en masse usually should happen during market crashes. In the last 4 years we had three significant market crashes – in 2018, in March 2020 and in May 2021. USDT survived all of them. > > It has also survived losing almost 25% of its market cap in a short time - from May to July of this year. > > **The latest breakdowns of the reserves is a step in the right direction** > > Tether had been criticized for lack of transparency (and rightly so) for many years. In May 2021, for the first time since 2014, Tether finally gave us an insight into their reserves. The first report was rather disappointing as it turned out that barely 3% of the reserves are made-up by cash. Moreover, 65% of the reserves were made-up by commercial paper and there were no details about the type of the commercial paper. \[7\] > > However, the reports from August and December 2021 looked much better \[8\]: cash and cash equivalents made up more than 80% of the reserves, more than 10% of which were cash and bank deposits, +/- 30% were treasure bills (they are considered very safe assets) and they provided more details – the reports included information about the rating and breakdown of maturity of the commercial paper and certificates of deposit. The reports were on pair with those of USDC. > > **USDT is centralized. But is it so bad in the case of a stablecoin?** > > Decentralization is essential for cryptocurrency. But so is replacing fiat. So is decentralization that important in the case of a stablecoin? > > The fact that USDT is centralized also allowed it to do good things on many occasions. It returned USDT sent to wrong addresses and cooperated with law enforcement officials and blocked/froze addresses that used USDT for illegal activities. \[9\], \[10\] > > ^(Sources:) > > ^(\[01\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tether/(cryptocurrency)) > > ^(\[02\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/TetherWhitePaper.pdf) > > ^(\[03\]) [^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stablecoin) > > ^(\[04\])[^(https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\\\\id=3835219)](https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract\id=3835219) > > ^(\[05\]) [^(https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2)](https://blog.coinbase.com/tether-usdt-is-now-available-on-coinbase-214f075deaa2) > > ^(\[06\]) [^(https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin)](https://www.theverge.com/22620464/tether-backing-cryptocurrency-stablecoin) > > ^(\[07\]) [^(https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf)](https://tether.to/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/tether-march-31-2021-reserves-breakdown.pdf) > > ^(\[08\]) [^(https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports)](https://tether.to/en/transparency/#reports) > > ^(\[09\]) [^(https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt)](https://decrypt.co/41920/tether-uses-centralized-power-refund-million-usdt) > > ^(\[10\]) [^(https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/)](https://cryptopotato.com/tether-freezes-1-7m-in-usdt-stolen-in-yearn-finance-exploit/) ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Tether) to find submissions for other topics.

Michael__X

I'm happy we have this because this has to be the most self hating cynical industry I've ever seen. There's a thread every week on does anyone think this whole thing is a scam? Anyway optimistic about Optimism Superchain and Base Chain. Coinbase has been showing off the development of smart wallets. Basically you can use dapps without seed phrases and all the extra complexity of setting up a wallet. You can log in with google the same way you would any other app. This + free USDC sending with coinbase wallet + soon free gas for coinbase users makes me think it'll easily be the best chain for retail mass adoption.

coinfeeds-bot

tldr; Pike Finance, a decentralized finance protocol, suffered a $1.6 million loss due to a vulnerability in its USDC transfer functions. The exploit occurred across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Optimism platforms, involving the theft of various cryptocurrencies. The vulnerability was linked to weak security in functions managing USDC transfers, specifically in the burning and minting process across chains, which allowed attackers to manipulate data and withdraw funds. *This summary is auto generated by a bot and not meant to replace reading the original article. As always, DYOR.

BrickSufficient6938

Took nice profits on Pepe, Wif, sol, almost all now in USDC gathering 10ish % a year waiting for BTC to go under my average or close to get more. I'm simple

No-Direction1471

On Coinbase, buy USDC, then use that to buy BTC (in advances trade). You should be able to transfer right away. There are times they place a hold depending on how often you buy and the variety of addresses. 99% of the time I can self custody right away.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

CMB3-37

USDC

CointestMod

#Ethereum Pro-Arguments Below is an argument written by Nostalg33k which won 2nd place in the Ethereum Pro-Arguments topic for a prior [Cointest](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_policy) round. > ​ > > # Ethereum: Use-case driving value > > Ethereum is a very valuable Blockchain. This blockchain is driven by innovation and utility. To understand what makes Ethereum such a valuable eco-system we need to discuss the inner-working of Ethereum. > > # Introduction: Ethereum explained > > According to [Ethereum.org](https://Ethereum.org) : > > >What is Ethereum? > > Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money, global payments, and applications. The community has built a booming digital economy, bold new ways for creators to earn online, and so much more. It's open to everyone, wherever you are in the world – all you need is the internet. > > So the topic driving this discussion is badly worded. If we are discussing top coins then we should discuss Ether and not Ethereum. Since Ethereum is such an interesting ecosystem I will treat this argument as a pro Ethereum post. I'd love to see the discussion focused on Ether next time. > > Ethereum is not managed by a single entity nor managed by the Ethereum Foundation but is managed through a decentralized process explained [In their governance page](https://ethereum.org/en/governance/). > > Time for some metrics: Ethereum is currently trading north of 1750 $ and has a circulating supply of 122 millions ETH for a Market cap at around 218 billions > > Let's go back to the quote: "Ethereum is a technology that's home to digital money". This point is important. Ether is not the only coin which is using the Ethereum blockchain. A lot of value on the Ethereum Blockchain is not in Ether coins. This will be discussed further down. Ethereum is also home to global payment, so Ether and other cryptocurrencies can be used to settle transactions between P2P in a permissionless way. > > Applications called Dapps exist on the blockchain. We are going to discuss all of these aspects. We are also going to tackle NFTs on the Ethereum Blockchain. > > Ethereum is also completed by L2s. These are going to be mentioned. > > Ethereum has been switched from POW to Asic resistant POW to POS. These are going to be discussed. > > ​ > > # Ethereum: Home to digital money. > > Ethereum strength is that the blockchain is home to many cryptocurrencies. If gas fees are paid in Ether, many tokens have billions circulating in the Ethereum ecosystem. A quick look at Etherscans reveal how strong the ethereum ecosystem is. > > According to [EtherScan](https://etherscan.io/tokens) the blockchain has 40 Billions $ in USDT, 46 Billions in USDC and 7 Billions $ in Wrapped BTC. The market cap of Ether may be around 200 billions but the on chain value of assets in the Ethereum Blockchain is far higher. > > All of these USDT and USDC are stablecoins which can be used for transactions. In fact, it can be used for P2P transaction in a permissionless way but also to buy stuff from businesses. [Here is a list of business accepting USDT (which exists in the Ethereum blockchain)](https://nowpayments.io/blog/businesses-accepting-tether) and [Here is a list of business accepting directly Ethereum](https://www.analyticsinsight.net/top-10-companies-accepting-ethereum-as-a-payment-method-in-2022/) > > These classical transactions are not the only use of the Ethereum Blockchain: Dapps and NFT are also thriving ! > > # Ethereum: Home to dapps and NFTs > > Ethereum is home to a lot of different applications: Marketplaces, exchanges, defi, wallets, games... > > These application are different because they are called dapps: > > >A decentralised application (DApp,\[1\] dApp,\[2\] Dapp, or dapp) is an application that can operate autonomously, typically through the use of smart contracts, that run on a decentralized computing, blockchain or other distributed ledger system.\[3\] > > [Wikipedia Dapps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decentralized_application) > > To give a glance to these dapps you can head to this website tho be wary of the first dapp listed being an advertisement for shady businesses (I haven't found a better website to source dapps) [Here you go](https://dappradar.com/rankings/protocol/ethereum/1) > > While I don't believe in the current state of NFT technology being viable (See my write up in favor of NFT speaking about the future of this technology), we have to take into account that even after losing 60% of their value there is still 3 Billions USD in NFTs in the Ethereum Blockchain [Source](https://cointelegraph.com/news/ethereum-nft-collections-lost-nearly-60-of-their-market-cap-in-2022-report) > > # Ethereum: Layers of goodness. > > Ethereum can be a bit expensive for people, this is why it was layered. There are side chains existing just to be cheaper than Ethereum while offering bridges to and from Ethereum. For example Polygon. > > >Polygon is a Layer-2 scaling solution created to help bring mass adoption to the Ethereum platform. It caters to the diverse needs of developers by providing tools to create scalable decentralized applications (dApps) that prioritize performance, user experience (UX), and security. > > So if you want to be able to evaluate Ethereum you need to go and read about the biggest layer 2 pro and cons. > > [A small list of Ethereum layer 2 given by Ethereum.org](https://ethereum.org/en/layer-2/) > > # Ethereum: Evolve to thrive > > Ethereum has been a rapidly evolving ecosystem. It has seen the evolution of mining from GPU to Asic. In order to not become reliant on Asic mining, Ethereum was made Asic resistant. This created other problems: A pressure on the GPU market but also a concern for energy efficiency. In order to improve the footprint but also reduce the fees, Ethereum was made to transistion from POW to POS. Proof of stake is a protocol in which you need to stake coins to run a node in the network. > > This shows an ability to look ahead and to tackle challenges. > > # Conclusion: Ethereum is a rapidly evolving ecosystem which has a lot of value in it. Since Ether is their native coin, all of this impacts Ether's value. > > This is where we go back to the TOP COIN aspect of this write up. Everything I have said has an impact on the value and use of Ether. If you believe in the future of the Ethereum Blockchain, you can go ahead and look a bit more into Ether. If you don't believe in the Ethereum Blockchain then you should try to find a competitor. > > Just know that Ethereum is trying to become deflationary and that their economic outlook seems on par with good cryptos. > > Ethereum is one of the techs of the future and this essay has shown some of the most important aspects of it. > > Have fun ! ***** Would you like to learn more? [Click here](/r/CointestOfficial/comments/100p71b/top_coins_ethereum_proarguments_january_2023/) to be taken to the original topic-thread for this argument or you can scan through the [Cointest Archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Ethereum) to find arguments on this topic in other rounds.

HugoMaxwell

"Earn up to 20% APY and get paid in USDC" -> What did you expect?

coinfeeds-bot

tldr; In the past 30 days, the three largest stablecoins by market cap processed over $1.3 trillion in transactions, surpassing Visa's monthly average of $1.2 trillion for 2023. Tether USD (USDT) led with $654 billion, followed by MakerDAO's DAI with $394 billion, and USD Coin (USDC) with $321 billion. This data, however, only includes transactions on Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible networks, suggesting the actual stablecoin trading volume could be even higher. *This summary is auto generated by a bot and not meant to replace reading the original article. As always, DYOR.

username2023yaya

You can also make money with BTC by making price predictions. Nuklai is creating a community prediction dataset atm; drop your predictions and earn in USDC when these datasets are monetized.

jawni

Anyone not suggesting a chain with USDC is just shilling their bags.

kuonanaxu

You can also make money with BTC by making price predictions. Nuklai is creating a community prediction dataset atm; drop your predictions and earn in USDC when these datasets are monetized.

kuonanaxu

There’s no stopping tbh. I’m sure the person that won that 1BTC from Nuklai’s price prediction contest is still grinding to gather more(I really wanted to win that one though; but I’ll take the USDC prizes as a consolation).

anonymouscitizen2

The insurmountable friction is the legal treatment. Even if the tech gets competitive to VISA they are still far worse. Sure, it is a potential use-case, but as things stand today its a horrible investment. It is delusional to think governments will just give up their currency monopolies and with the continued adoption of stablecoins like USDC/T or CBDCs, the odds of a standalone crypto payment token getting any mainstream adoption as a MoE is practically zero. The people pitching these coins pitch them as good investments, they are not. They have been horrible investments and will continue to be considering the nearly insurmountable headwinds they face. The tech isn’t there and the legal treatment isn’t either. Not a single one of them is suitable for the commerce needs of a big city, let alone the world. This is the reality of the situation

anonymouscitizen2

Yes, I expect the adoption and use of fiat stablecoins(like USDT/USDC) to continue to grow. Those do get the preferential tax advantages. To be clear my comments were specifically about standalone crypto payment tokens such as anano or others in the same vein

jgsabino

The chains are fine, it's just the token that's not a good hold. Cheap transactions accrue little value. If I had to move money through Algorand, I'd either sell the volatile token immediately or just transact in USDC. Maybe Solana has a chance.

MaximumStudent1839

The reality is, USDC is the best form of transactional money in crypto. Neither of the two chains provide easy access to USDC - I checked on Coinbase and Kraken. So they aren’t useful payment rails for the avg user. And no. The native tokens are too volatile for ppl to treat them as transactional money. It is a degen larp narrative. As far as I understand, both don’t really have an on-chain ecosystem. So if you can’t be a good stable payment rail and have no other solid on-chain activity, you are basically not much better than a ghost chain. I think this is one of the best development in crypto. What dictate price growth should be decided by on chain users’ activities, not ppl who just hodl and do nothing with them in CEX. The only exception is BTC because ppl really just treat it as a SoV CEX coin.

anonymouscitizen2

having to pay tax on the fluctuating value of your currency is an enormous and expensive chore, governments figured this out a century ago which is why government fiat transactions are specifically exempt from taxes. Some cryptotoken will never get that treatment and that scenario was just an example for what you’d have to do to avoid tax implications. It adds tremendous friction to both the user and merchant, which is why crypto tokens as a currency have never gained any adoption. (This obviously excludes fiat stablecoins like USDC/T) those do get the preferential tax treatments and for that reason will likely continue gaining adoption, making it even more impossible for some standalone crypto”currency” to get marketshare)

anonymouscitizen2

Stablecoins are just government fiat over blockchain networks. Those will be succesful IMO because they do get the legal and tax benefits. I was talking about “payment coins” that are themselves a new token whose prices float freely, not stablecoins like USDT or USDC.

Rusty_Charm

‘Fast and cheap’ is relatively easy. Tons of L1s and L2s out there where you can send money back and forth for a fraction of cent. What’s much more trickier is giving people a reason to put their money on the chain in the first place, I.e eco system. Another issue here is how to you actually bridge to the chain. Are there lots of bridges that are fast and cheap? Once you bridge, will it take 7 days to bridge your funds back? Last problem is that sending tokens back and forth for fraction of a cent might be important if you could buy items like gum or McDonald’s in crypto, but you can’t, so eco system (what can you actually do with the token) is infinitely more important at this point. And re: all businesses accepting crypto. Yea, probably will come, but you’re delusional if you think that’s going to include all sorts of alts. It will most likely be just USDC (or whatever ends up being the “legitimized” stable coin) because businesses don’t want to be burdened with the volatility of crypto, not even BTC.

CointestMod

#Algorand Con-Arguments Below is a Algorand con-argument written by a deleted user. > ####**Smart contracts are not yet trustless** > > EVM blockchain explorers (like EtherScan) allow smart contract creators to publish and verify their smart contract code. This allows users to trustlessly audit them and interact with them in a safe and decentralized way. > > In contrast, Algorand's blockchain explorers do not show verified code. At most, they only show [decompiled code](https://algoexplorer.io/application/971388781), through which you can only guess how the smart contract works. And there's no method to interact with them trustlessly. You have to trust the developer's app. > > ####**Small dApp community** > > Algorand TVL is [currently only $240M](https://defillama.com/chains). Even an L2 rollup like Arbitrum has 4x its TVL, and Ethereum is 340x times larger. > > Algorand only generates [$100k of revenue from transactions fees annually](https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/algorand). That's enough to pay for 1 engineer's salary. > > It also doesn't help that Algorand's smart contract interpreter, AVM is very different than Ethereum's EVM, so there's a barrier to switch from Solidity to PyTeal. > > ####**Algorand CEO Staci Warden has a history of immature tweets** > > * That mysterious [NIKE](https://u.today/algorand-ceo-debunks-nike-partnership-details) tweet which turned out to be nothing > * [Tweeting like a teen with bad grammar](https://twitter.com/StaciW_DC/status/1568607639717957634) about losing USDC on Hodlnaut. And why are they even storing important Foundation funds on a CeFi platform in the first place? > > ####**Low Decentralization** > > Algorand has 2500 participation nodes, but there are several other metrics that tell a different story. > > * **Very few nodes actually participate in consensus**: Over the past 7 days (~150k blocks), only [190 voters participated in consensus](https://metrics.algorand.org/#/decentralization/). Unlike Ethereum, in which EVERY staking validator participates in Casper FFG consensus, Algorand [picks voters based on their stake](https://developer.algorand.org/docs/get-details/algorand_consensus/#the-algorand-consensus-protocol), and only a few are included in their leader and voting committees. > * **Relay Nodes**: Algorand Foundation manages a secret list of relay nodes responsible for forwarding transactions to the participation nodes. It's fine as long as there are a few honest relay nodes not censoring blocks. What's concerning is that the Algorand Foundation [used to publish a number of 100-120 relay nodes](https://np.reddit.com/r/AlgorandOfficial/comments/ku4brb/algorand_relay_nodes_public_data/), but they have since scrubbed all information about the number and identity those relay nodes. > > **Governance is for unimportant decisions on reward distributions, not for protocol updates** > > Algorand often markets that it has governance. But [the elections have only been used to vote on community rewards distribution](https://governance.algorand.foundation/), and they're very minor changes. Governance is also coordinated entirely the Algorand Foundation. > > I have never found any information voting being used for Algorand updates, which suggests that there is no public vote for protocol-level decisions. > > ####**Questionable long-term economic sustainability of its security model** > > **Constantly-changing plans** > > As much as I like Algorand's technology, its tokenomics suck. The more I study Algorand's tokenomics, the more I feel that it's a decade-long rug pull. > > First, the Algorand Foundation keeps changing the rewards system and tokenomics model: > > * They attracted node runners (early relay nodes) with billions of dollars of rewards, set to last until 2024. > * They attracted stakers and participation nodes with rewards to last until 2022. > * They then attracted community participation with Governance rewards starting in late 2021 that is currently scheduled to run out in 2030. > * At one point, there were discussions about re-introducing rewards for community relay nodes after community complaints. > > I compare their documentation with [my previous notes](https://np.reddit.com/r/MPlankton/comments/v16v7v/algorand_research_may_2022_draft/) from mid 2022, and many of the links they originally published have been replaced. Their notorious "Long Term Algo Dynamics" page, referenced as the "[New, Longer Term Algo Dynamics Model](https://www.algorand.foundation/news/new-algo-dynamics-overview)" is now old. It redirects to [a new, new model](https://www.algorand.foundation/tokenomics) which still doesn't fix their tokenomics. They seem to be changing decisions on a whim, chasing after whatever gets the most bad publicity at the time. > > **No Plans after 2030** > > Algorand Foundation's plans for [long-term economic sustainability](https://forum.algorand.org/t/serious-lack-of-transparency-and-engagement-of-algorand-foundation/2385/10) have been put off until 2030. It originally designed for Algo's 10B supply to be distributed over 6 years, with relay nodes being rewarded until 2022. That plan was scrapped and remade in Dec 2020 to extend the deadline to 2030 with rewards for relay nodes to last until 2024. There are no plans for sustainable rewards past 2030, and Algorand's tokenomics is a ticking time bomb. > > **High Inflation** > > Algorand's circulating supply has uneven inflation due to an accelerated vesting schedule. The actual circulating supply inflation was 141% in 2020, an insanely-high 433% in 2021, and 12.7% in 2022 [source](https://messari.io/asset/algorand/chart/sply-circ). The silver lining is that accelerated vesting is now over, so inflation will be [~5% over the period of 2023-2029](https://assets-global.website-files.com/62835f42aef969049eba0806/62cc37d101a3d91afc30efca_December%202020%20Algo%20Dynamics.pdf), assuming the 10B max supply holds. > > ####**Revenue too low to sustain security** > > Algorand only produces [~$100K annually from transaction fees](https://tokenterminal.com/terminal/projects/algorand), which isn't enough to cover the annual salary of single engineer. If they want to support their current 100 relay nodes, they'll likely need 100x the current fees unless everyone is super nice and **working for free**. > > **Relay Nodes** are maintained by a consortium of early investors, VCs, Universities, and other non-profits until 2024. These are being paid for through multiple rounds of massive grants totaling at least 2.5B Algo (worth billions of USD). Algorand is still the covering costs for future decentralized Relay Nodes through its [Community Relay Node Program](https://www.algorand.foundation/news/community-relay-node-program). > > It currently costs [$5-10K/year to run a cost-effective relay node on AWS](https://np.reddit.com/r/AlgorandOfficial/comments/o4on6e/run_a_relay_node_on_aws_cost_estimation/). Algorand's $100K in annual revenue from transaction fees is enough to cover a single relay node with 1 engineer. It's unsustainable. Do they think that relay node providers, each currently paid $5M annually on average, are going to stick around when they're suddenly no longer getting paid? > > **Participation nodes** are responsible for consensus and don't get paid anything. They have moderately-high [hardware requirements](https://developer.algorand.org/docs/run-a-node/setup/install/): 16GB memory, 100GB NVMe SSD, 1 Gbps dedicated Internet. > > They don't get paid any rewards, and I'm skeptical how reliable that can be with their hardware, energy, and personnel costs. ***** Would you like to learn more? Check out the [Cointest archive](/r/CointestOfficial/wiki/cointest_archive#wiki_Algorand) to find submissions for other topics.

afraidtobecrate

USDC would be the best. Wide variety of networks to choose from. Price stability makes payments easy too.

afraidtobecrate

USDC is the best bet, on a low fee network like Base.