The Tether shuffle
Use this handy trick to save yourself when the market bombs.
Advanced crypto-investors can disregard this article and move on to their next big bet, but for the recently initiated, this little trick can save, or even make you money, if you time things carefully.
Cashing out of exchanges is a relatively annoying and costly process. But when you have hit a high on your favorite token, you may want to cash out and shelter yourself from the next big dip.
Enter USDT Tethers.
Tethers act as a substitute for the US dollar on cryptocurrency exchanges. You can trade Tethers with some of the bigger currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and so forth, depending on the exchange you use. The key rule about Tethers is that they remain pegged at the value of the U.S. dollar - a currency that is far, far more stable than any cryptocurrency.
Let's take a hypothetical situation as an example (OK not all that hypothetical). You bought one Ethereum the other day when it was $1000 USD. Hours later, it rocketed to a high, exceeding $1400. Feeling pretty good about your gains and suspecting a bit of a slowdown, you trade your Ethereum into Tethers. You now hold $1400 worth of Tethers.
Ethereum drops. Hard. Way back down to $1100. As you observe Ethereum leveling out around $1000, you re-buy Ethereum at the newly discounted price with your $1400 worth of Tethers. Your Tethers are still worth $1400 even though Ethereum has tanked. You just gained a nice chunk of Ethereum at no cost!
Of course, this involves some careful observation, timing, and a little bit of luck. There was no guarantee that Ethereum was going to slow down when it did. It could have kept going up and you would have been left holding a bag of Tethers that are not increasing in value. Tethers can serve an important purpose in sheltering you from crashes like we experienced today, if you can react in time.
So, you need to be careful and observant, but also be willing to take some risks.
*This is not professional trading advice - just my opinion! Don't risk what you can not afford to lose.
image source:
https://kryptomoney.com/tether-supply-increase-amidst-bitcoin-price-hike/
YES -- I just made the following post covering this -- but from a slightly different angle. By watching the volume and the price of Tethers... it's a good way to know what the market is likely to do next. ;) Nice to meet you... I've started following your stuff.
https://steemit.com/steemit/@somena/are-we-watching-a-dead-cat-bouncing-observations-from-a-legacy-finance-trader-on-crypto-when-to-get-back-in
Nice to meet you too, @somena!
Great write up!
It's especially useful on exchanges that don't offer USD pairing, like Poloniex.
I think its adoption has been hindered by the amount of FUD around Tether being a scam. Would you agree?
I agree it has been somewhat hindered by the situation - although I can't say for certain that there isn't a little bit of shady business going on there!