You can now purchase crypto on BlockTrades using the two most popular USD Tether coins, USDT_OMNI and USDT_ERC20. USDT_OMNI is an omni-based coin that operates on top of the Bitcoin network. USDT_ERC20 is an ethereum-based token (an ERC-20 token).
What is USD Tether (USDT)?
USD Tether is a stable-coin whose value is tied to the US dollar via backing by the company Tether Limited. The CEO of Tether Ltd is also the CEO of BitFinex and BitFinex is one of the main exchanges where USDT is traded, so you will often find articles that reference BitFinex as well as Tether Ltd, when USDT is discussed.
USDT controversies, Tether Ltd, and BitFinex
Over the years, there have been many controversies surrounding Tether. Generally these controversies tend to revolved around the claim that the amount of USDT in circulation is higher than the amount of liquid assets that Tether Ltd has to back them, and an associated claim that this unbacked USDT has been used to manipulate the cryptocurrency market to inflate the price of bitcoin.
The most notable such claim is a suit filed by the New York Attorney General’s office. However, it is worth pointing out that in the NY AG’s suit, it appears that the amount they are claiming isn’t backed is a result of those funds having been frozen by various governments (most notably, the US government). So, as far as I can understand the case (bear in mind, I’m just reading public articles about it), the NYAG filed a suit against Tether for not fully backing USDT coins, and at least one of the reasons the coins are not fully backed is because some of the funds are temporarily frozen by the US government itself. To me, that’s just a bit strange. It’s also not clear to me if those funds are just frozen or have been permanently seized, which leaves one to wonder if just because funds are frozen, they can no longer be considered to back an obligation.
There’s even a relatively recent article on coindesk now about a new private class-action lawsuit being launched against Tether and Bitfinex: https://cointelegraph.com/news/how-severe-is-roche-freedmans-lawsuit-against-tether-and-bitfinex Yes, shocking news, there are plenty of lawyers out there that are happy to file class action lawsuits to enrich their own pockets, especially when they have little to lose except their time. Uh wait, I mean to help the “little guy” by virtuously contributing their own valuable time for a small chance of a future return on their invested time (now this paragraph is hopefully “lawyer approved”).
Anyways, the takeaway from the above is that there certainly is some risk in long term holding of USDT as its value is maintained by a reliance on the ability of Tether Ltd to back the coins with fiat currency and you should probably manage your holdings accordingly. Nonetheless, I’ve found it can be useful as a means of holding coins with a stable USD value over the short term, especially if you’re dealing with centralized exchanges, so we’ve decided to add it to our list of supported coins, despite the controversies associated with Tether Ltd.
A small note on transaction fees for USDT coins
USD Tether can be transferred along multiple blockchains. That’s why there are multiple coin types: USDT_Omni (these coins are transmitted on the bitcoin blockchain), USDT_ERC20 (these coins are transmitted on the ethereum blockchain, and even USDT_TRON (transmitted on the Tron blockchain). The coins on all three of these blockchains are backed by the same value, so they can be considered the same for valuation purposes.
But it is useful to note that the transaction fees vary a lot across these networks. For example, a USDT_OMNI transaction costs about 2x a regular bitcoin transaction (it is 2x because there is additional information required by the OMNI coin protocol that needs to be included in the bitcoin transaction), so it normally costs significantly more to send USDT_OMNI than USDT_ERC20.
I want to buy STEEM with CC or Paypal. Right now to buy STEEM, I have to buy some shitcoin on coinbase then transfer it to another exchange, sell it off, buy STEEM. So complicated and expensive
With bitcoin or Ethereum, you can buy steem easily using blocktrades. 😌 It's fast.
Instead of buying shitcoins and send them to another exchange. Just buy bitcoin or ETH. Then use @blocktrades to exchange it to steem here.💁
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That's what I'm talking about. Bitcoin and Ethereum are shitcoins.
Although I get it... The transaction fees that goes when using Btc or other "shitcoins" following that route 😂 is still something.
It'll be wonderful for one to be able to use PayPal or CC to buy STEEM directly.
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Lol. @mmmmkkkk311😂😂😂.
This is the funniest thing I've read this week😂
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We're working on simplifying the process of buying crypto with fiat currencies (e.g. USD and Euros). Getting thru all the regulatory hurdles just takes a lot of time.
I have talked with simplex about fiat exchange options recently. They have bit higher fees and volume requirements. In case of eSteem those volumes are quite high at this moment to consider partnership but I think you guys have enough volume to integrate with them.
This is actually a good suggestion but given that Simplex take the risk of holding and exchanging base on spot price, it may not be the right move for Steem at this moment. Steem volume and liquidity isn't strong enough to withstand any sort of block selling.
nice info...
Excellent.
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They have bit higher fees and volume requirements.
Nice news ! When list dai ?!
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@blocktrades I would hoping you would do something like this. But truthfully I don't understand why you would pick USDT rather than launch a BlockTrades stable token?
Why not Blocktrades SMT aka Blockdollars? Please take my idea and collateralize it with your choice of a stable basket of assets.
At least it's a start and we have an option. I just don't know about Tether because as you mention it's hard to know for sure if it's really backed 1:1 with USD, and even if it were, they don't pay any interest and USD isn't what I'd consider stable but I guess compared to most crypto during a bear market it seems like it.
What about Coinbase USD? If possible I would use theirs because at least we know they wont have the same regulatory risk. Theirs might not be available outside of their platform though but if they ever do then theirs will have advantages as they do pay interest and people Coinbase at this point.
Yeah they definitely can use SMT so the fee is minimal but it's not out yet. We desperately need a more reliable stablecoin on this chain compared to SBD.
If they worry about regulations and credibility of Tether inc. how about if the SMT is backed by dai instead of relying on any centralized entity?
#sbi-skip
We're working on setting up partner companies that have the necessary licenses to mix cash and crypto. It just takes a lot of time, especially because the regulations keep changing. Adding USDT was just a stop-gap measure.
On the positive side, the delays imposed by all the regulatory hurdles are giving us time to develop some cool software offerings that we can deploy when those partner companies go live.
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This is Wonderful.😊 great move
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Wow! That's a big plus to blocktrades market, keep discovering! @blocktrades
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Hi! Is there something wrong with your site?! I could not buy or sell Steem on Blocktrades for a few days now. But I could power up though!
Thanks for your kind attention.
Have a nice day!
Hi, our site is working ok. You can see here where customers are currently buying and selling Steem from us:
https://steemitwallet.com/@blocktrades/transfers
What browser are you using? Also, you may want to try "F5" refresh in case you have an old version of our web pages cached in your browser.
Thank you very much for your reply! I could use your site after I tried to access it via other drop menu!
Yes, I need to refresh my browser too!
Cheers.
Relay shocking & bad news for USDT ,ERC20 &TRON coins holder .
Congratulations on the new intergration!
Thank you very much for the support of your vote in one of my publications hehehe greetings
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Thank you for sharing it. I enjoy your content.
.. thank you for this useful information..up..follow you..