15 Hacker News comments link this video. Each one links back to its thread.
paulgbJun 2021Strongly recommends
A YouTuber called Coffeezilla had an entertaining video yesterday that I think is one of the most comprehensive (and entertaining) takes on this. It's pretty damning when you look at all the evidence together. ▶ this video Even in the off-chance that people with a track record of lying about being backed have suddenly gone legitimate, it's a pretty big indictment of the system that it could grow to the size it did while looking incredibly like a scam .
in “Legal expert says Tether and Binance Coin are likely picks for SEC lawsuit” · View on HN
udev4096Sep 2025Recommends
Bullshit. The biggest stable coin, Tether, is pure scam. They are essentially creating money out of nowhere. They were found guilty of massive fraud and were fined $18M [1]. They refuse to get audited by a third-party [2]. The ones that do audit them are just as sketchy as them [3]. I would recommend watching this video to grasp the scope of their fraud [4] [1] - [link] [2] - [link] [3] - [link] [4] - ▶ this video
in “Stripe Launches L1 Blockchain: Tempo” · View on HN
richbellDec 2022Recommends
> I don’t hold any tether, and I wouldn’t recommend it to others. But the common opinion that Tether is insolvent might be wrong. Tether, as a stable business, is a money printing machine. I’m not sure it’d be worth risking the business and jail time to pump shitcoins I encourage you to watch Coffeezilla's video about Tether. There's lots of shady stuff going on behind the scenes, like them borrowing $383M from Bitfinex and showing that to an auditor to prove they were solvent (~20:00). ▶ this video
in “Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research, pleads guilty to seven offences” · View on HN
santamexJul 2021Recommends
This one explains the Tether scam quite nice: ▶ this video Edit: summary: 8 people founding the tether company, 7 of them with a criminal background. Lying and denying and then admitting after they have no other option. Yeah, seems like a nice company…
in “Tether executives said to face criminal probe into bank fraud” · View on HN
arcticbullJul 2021Recommends
I highly recommend the first five Cas Piancey and Bennett Tomlin podcasts [1] and the (albit a little bit dated) Kalzumeus post [2]. I also really enjoyed the Calacanis podcast with Bitfinex'ed [3] and the Coffeezilla [4]. [1] [link] [2] [link] [3] [link] [4] ▶ this video
in “Tether executives said to face criminal probe into bank fraud” · View on HN
yadaenoJul 2021Recommends
What I don't understand is why major exchanges continue to give tether their customers money when it's not backed by cash? Would an exchange not be incentivised to manage the cash themselves and significantly reduce risk for their customers and business? It seems like huge risk for what looks like a minor convenience. Also, very good video on the history and current state of tether: ▶ this video
in “Tether executives said to face criminal probe into bank fraud” · View on HN
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_fat_santaJun 2021Recommends
Saw a really good YT video[1] on Tether yesterday. Breaks down all the sketchiness. But the problem he mentions in the video is a problem with pretty much all stablecoins, in order to function you must have the proper reserves before generating a token, but inevatably greed kicks in and you start thinking what if you minted coins without the backing. USD pegged stablecoins are basically money printing machines in the hands of whoever runs the project. [1]: ▶ this video
in “Legal expert says Tether and Binance Coin are likely picks for SEC lawsuit” · View on HN
jay-barronvilleFeb 2023Cites it
Coffeezilla (on YouTube) has been exposing the Tether scam for almost two years now [1]. Even as a crypto believer (long-term), it’s been fascinating to see this scam survive this long despite being repeatedly exposed. [1]: ▶ this video
in “Tether ownership and company weaknesses revealed in documents” · View on HN
nailerJan 2023Cites it
Re: 2 and 3. I'd stick to USDC over USDT. ▶ this video . USDC still has capitalisation statements. USDT doesn't. Eth is indeed slow and expensive, but more people (as in: active wallets) use Solana (a fast and cheap layer 1) than the any of the eth layer 2s these days. Coinbase staff have been caught front running their customers on new tokens listings multiple times now, even after they promised to actively stop it. Whatever's going on in Japan is going on in Japan. Don't trust other people with custody of your funds.
in “Tell HN: Coinbase is a joke (product and support)” · View on HN
danukerDec 2022Cites it
Yes, on a centralized entity you're required to trust ("we're totally backed by cash and bonds, for realsies"), as opposed to owning and holding your crypto outright. From their web page: > Transparent > A top auditing firm will attest to the matching supply of BUSD tokens and underlying U.S. dollars on a monthly basis. Note the future tense, as in, "sometime indefinitely away in the future". Their attestations (as opposed to audits) just say that at a certain instant in time they had the required amount in a bank account. That means Paxos could have borrowed it for a short while. Quote [1]: "Any activity prior to or after the Report Dates and Times at 5:00 pm ET was not considered when testing the assertions described above." This is the same trick pointed out by Coffeezilla about a year ago, about Tether. [2] And the one from November is missing. [1] - [link] [2] - ▶ this video
in “Binance freezes withdrawals of stablecoin USDC as investors pull $2B” · View on HN
richbellDec 2022Cites it
> They don't claim it's backed 1:1 by USD. They claim it's backed by more or less liquid alternatives They used to, for several years, until they were pressured to prove it and could not (27:05). ▶ this video They were also investigated and found guilty by the New York Attorney General, and were subsequently banned from activity in New York and fined 18.5M. > Bitfinex and Tether recklessly and unlawfully covered-up massive financial losses to keep their scheme going and protect their bottom lines,” said Attorney General James. “Tether’s claims that its virtual currency was fully backed by U.S. dollars at all times was a lie. [link]
in “Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research, pleads guilty to seven offences” · View on HN
richbellDec 2022Cites it
> HN has been talking about how Tether is a scam and how it will blow up AnyMomentNow(TM) for two years Tether managed to come back from the brink of death (user loss of confidence) by co-mingling funds with Bitfinex and getting a third-party to provide an 'attestation' based on money they didn't actually have. This was only discovered years after the fact, and were it not for this deception they would have collapsed ages ago, much like FTX. ▶ this video
in “Caroline Ellison, CEO of Alameda Research, pleads guilty to seven offences” · View on HN
gogopuppygogoJun 2021Cites it
Crypto currencies today are basically all decentralized Ponzi schemes inflated in value by the very centralized tether that is is printing something like $4Bn a week of new tether with no US dollar currency known to be backing it: ▶ this video
in “Doge Branded as Ponzi by Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President” · View on HN
richbellMar 2023Critical
> Tether has lots of experience in this field. They were "pioneer" and they went through a lot worse: Tons of FUD, the Bitfinex exchange hack, lawsuits, bank runs etc... They're experts in fraud and deception. ▶ this video
in “Coinbase suspending USDC:USD conversions over the weekend” · View on HN
nailerJan 2023Critical
Remember Tether is bullshit. Pardon the bad language but it’s a scam and as someone involved in blockchain I hate it. ▶ this video
in “Crypto.com Will Delist Tether in Canada” · View on HN