I was fearful this tether-is-a-bridge-to-a-bitcoin-future "vision" would be the biggest marketing push toward bitcoiners cycle, but if Tether is right, they don't need to market it to bitcoiners because they have significant market-fit otherwise. Maybe what appears to be lip-service is genuine service?
During the interview, Ardoino reflected on Tether’s impact in the current financial landscape: he expressed the belief that, in a hypothetical scenario without Tether, the US dollar would still maintain its dominant position, while the Bitcoin startup ecosystem would be in a more backward state of development compared to the current one.
To those who suggest that USDT could effectively become the American CBDC, Ardoino responded:If we didn’t submit to the controls and rules that banks are subject to, we couldn’t operate with USDT and we couldn’t help 400 million people. Today, about 35 million new wallets are created each quarter to use USDT. As Tether, we are offering a possibility that is part of the traditional financial system.
This all feels kind of like a parent saying "if it weren't for how hard I beat you with that belt, you wouldn't be as strong." Meaning, it might be my own faulty pattern matching, but something about the messaging of tether-is-really-a-financial-conduit-to-bitcoin-economies feels off.