Is Tether Becoming America’s Defacto CBDC? Crypto Experts Weigh In

Crypto industry experts have been discussing Tether and its potential to become the dollar-pegged defacto central bank digital currency of the world.

The comments come in response to Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, who told CNBC earlier this week:

“I’m a big fan of this stablecoin called Tether…I hold their treasuries. So I keep their treasuries, and they have a lot of treasuries. They’re over $90 billion now, so I’m a big fan of Tether.”

Cantor Fitzgerald is a global investment bank, brokerage, and financial services firm.

Is Tether Like a CBDC?

On Dec. 13, Glassnode on-chain analyst “Checkɱate” declared, “Tether is the CBDC.”

He added that if the US government can shut down Russia’s reserves, it is “hard to argue they are incapable of closing down Tether’s.”

“Most probable reality is the USG just found an infinite bid for treasuries, exactly when they need a bailout from an unsustainable fiscal situation.”

He believes the developing world is “dollarizing” as their fiat currencies collapse. As a result, USDT is objectively better than pesos, bolivars, and lira. “Emerging markets essentially fund US retirements, healthcare, military escapades, and gov largess,” he added before concluding:

“Ironically, this is a win-win scenario for both parties.”

Tether is the CBDC.

Travis is dead on, if the USG can shut down Russia’s reserves…hard to argue they are incapable of closing down tether’s.

Most probable reality is the USG just found an infinite bid for treasuries, exactly when they need a bail out from an unsustainable… https://t.co/0i903ARV9x

— _Checkɱate 🔑⚡🌋☢️🛢️ (@_Checkmatey_) December 13, 2023

Bitcoin ESG evangelist David Batten pointed out several key differences between Tether and a CBDC.

He noted that CBDCs don’t invest millions into green BTC mining, get Bitcoin into University education programs, or partner with a Bitcoin city (Lugano).

The comments come in response to former portfolio manager Travis Kling who reminded his followers that “Tether is in business because the US govt is cool with that.”

“Tether is completely beholden to US regulators. If the US govt ever changes its mind for some reason, Tether would be gone the next day.”

Additionally, there has been a lot of opposition in the US to a Federal Reserve-controlled CBDC.

Tether Distancing From Uncle Sam

However, the firm has been distancing itself from Uncle Sam due to the ongoing war on crypto. Furthermore, it is now the stablecoin of choice for the rest of the world.

Last week, General Partner at Dragonfly, Rob Hadick, commented on the divergence between USDT and USDC supplies and trading volumes.

“Traders outside of the regulated US/UK firms and increasingly retail in emerging markets are actually using USDT as a mechanism to transact.”

Tether’s market cap has surged to a record $90 billion, while Circle’s has slumped to around $24 billion. Tether now commands around 70% of the stablecoin market share, whereas Circle’s share has declined to just 18%.