Do you say that if the company issuing stablecoins goes bankrupt, the stablecoins in hand will become worthless? Actually, you can look at it from a different perspective — think of USDT as an online Hong Kong dollar.

Will the Hong Kong dollar depreciate into worthless paper? Most people would say no, because the Hong Kong dollar is a fiat currency backed by the government. But in fact, the Hong Kong dollar is also issued jointly by multiple commercial banks, including HSBC, Bank of China, Citibank, and a few others. The basis for issuance is US dollar reserves. For every dollar stored, an equivalent amount of Hong Kong dollars can be printed, with accounts regularly disclosed.

Does that sound similar to USDT? The difference is that one is issued by multiple banks, and the other by a single company. However, Tether has grown to a scale that far exceeds its original role as a simple trading tool. Now, many physical enterprises use USDT for international payments, and cross-border trade is also using it. It has become part of the global business system.

Honestly, if Tether were to announce bankruptcy one day, many commercial institutions would rush to take over. In the market participants’ perception, USDT is no different from USD in essence. This widespread recognition is its greatest value.

In the end, it all comes down to one sentence: this is the power of consensus.