[thisisnico]

Market cap of Bitcoin is: 117.81 billion U.S. Market cap of Tether USDT: $9.16 billion

Tether would account for 7.8% of all Bitcoin.

Not sure if that would count as being propped up. It's significant but not entirely propped up, there is a ton of real money in there too.

[earthtolazlo]

Market cap != market liquidity

If I create 100 billion FakeCoins and sell one to my grandmother for $10, suddenly FakeCoin has a 1 trillion dollar market cap. It doesn’t mean there’s anywhere near that much money actually in the market to support that valuation.

[tossAfterUsing]

this is precisely right and why nobody should ever buy a bitcoin under any circumstance.

[blaser-waffle]

I dunno, they're pretty useful for buying drugs and VPNs...

[mattmanser]

Doesn't that make it much worse? Only a certain amount of the tether is real, making it a tiny chunk, that's propping up a small chunk, that's propping up the large chunk.

If the tiny chunk goes, it all goes tumbling down?

[tossAfterUsing]

exactly.

stay far away from bitcoin.

[noxer]

>...there is a ton of real money in there too.

There is zero money "in there" market cap for a non-backed currency is meaningless value. No amount of bitcoin buying will ever put money "into" anything. The money goes to whoever sells its just a trade.

[tossAfterUsing]

nobody should ever buy a bitcoin under any circumstance for exactly this reason

[noxer]

Nothing wrong with speculating with money you don't need. Disclaimer: I own cryptos however no Bitcoins.