The money laundering business is bigger than I imagined!
Ask around for the going rate for USDT/USDC
Then check the official USD vs local currency exchange rate
Compare the two and ask yourself: why are ordinary people on OTC platforms willing to pay a substantial premium for USDT/USDC?
If you’re on HN, you’re likely smart enough to figure out why. And no, its not just plain “money laundering”.
I totally get why the official exchange rate is probably bogus, but I would expect the black market rate to be the same for USD/USDT/USDC
USDC/USDT are liquid on exchanges as well as OTC markets, very easy to store, and increasingly easy to spend.
Much of the western world is deeply ignorant of the sheer scale of this demand for USDT in the Global South. There are billions of people in these regions, and one thing is clear across all of them: they will prefer USD over their local currencies, but it's too hard to acquire this USD, especially in a digital form.
Hence, USDT/USDC.
I've personally hired people from Phillippines and Nigeria who preferred getting paid in USDT over their local currencies.
But, is the utility of USDT/USDC all meaningful to BTC? Those people aren't asking to hold BTC and those who are are doing so because they want to avoid the regulations governments imposed on money transfers is my guess.
It’s simply economically smarter to hold a currency that appreciates against your own. USD outperforms every currency, and USDT just makes it easier to hold.
Shit take