[craigc]

Thank you for not ripping my head off. I too am skeptical. I just think the other way is also not super likely.

On Bitfinex tethers are not used for actually purchasing bitcoins. US dollars are. Tethers are only issued when you want to withdraw funds from the exchange to, for example, take advantage of arbitrage opportunities with other exchanges that offer Tether trading pairs.

Why is that idea so unlikely? Crypto was in a bull market last year and lots of people were trying to buy. If I saw the price was cheaper on an exchange that offered Tether pairs but not USD pairs I would probably convert some USD to Tether to buy there as well.