[JumpCrisscross]

> depositing USDT into Bitfinex has always immediately credited your USD balance

This doesn't mean anything if that U.S. dollar balance cannot be redeemed for actual U.S. dollars. Saying "I have 1 USDT" or "I have 1 U.S. dollar on deposit at Bitfinex" is roughly equivalent--both depend on Bitfinex honoring its end of the deal.

[evancox100]

Of course the same is true for any bank or bank-like entity, all the way up the chain to the Federal Reserve.

I don't know a lot about Bitfinex, but it seems that the relevant questions are:

1) If you have "X U.S. dollars on deposit at Bitfinex", how easy is it to transfer that balance to an external account? (Maybe possible with a fee?)

2) Can you withdraw the balance in person directly for USD cash? (lol)

3) Does the federal government offer any type of legal guarantee/protection/insurance for the balance? (Hahahahah)

If anyone knows the answers to these, I'm genuinely curious.

Edit: I somehow missed the first part of your post that established the context as NOT being able to redeem the balance for USD. Obviously the ability to redeem your balance on demand for cash is pretty much the defining characteristic of a (solvent) bank, as opposed to say your friend Bob owing you money.

[Xixi]

1) Until that announcement: impossible for regular people, and maybe possible for big enough customers agreeing to go through many hoops like dealing with a bank in Uganda (from what I've heard, not sure if even that was possible).

2) Of course not.

3) Which federal government are you thinking about? I think Bitfinex is a Hong Kong entity, and Hong Kong is not a federation (it's a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China), so doesn't have a federal government.

[evancox100]

Thanks for the answers! And sorry, I was being US-centric. Doesn't really matter which government we're talking about, I don't think any of them would offer any protection.

[JumpCrisscross]

> the same is true for any bank or bank-like entity, all the way up the chain to the Federal Reserve

No, it isn't. For one, ATMs. For another, bank deposits are insured. The banks, themselves, are heavily audited. In fact, "no depositor has ever lost a penny of insured deposits since the FDIC was created in 1933" [1]. (Best treasury practice is to (a) open multiple accounts, to keep deposits insured or (b) hold excess cash as Treasuries.)

[1] https://www.fdic.gov/consumers/banking/facts/

[evancox100]

Yes, exactly the issues that the rest of my post went into. I believe we're in violent disagreement.