I think the Tether people know quite well when to exit, because their implosion will bring Bitcoin down.

Why? There are other stablecoins, with better reputation. Could people just switch to them?

Tether mediates a lot of the BTC/USD-exchanges. At the same time there are rumours that tether has insufficient USD backing, so if there is ever a bank run, exchanges will be unable to pay. At that point it will be too late for a tether alternative. And after the "big tether crash", regulation will be a lot harsher on exchanges and possibly all crypto currencies, which will continue to depress courses. And I really don't know if the alternatives are any better.

Yeah, I totally get the concerns about Tether's solvency. I guess what I don't get is why Tether remains popular, as a product that isn't unique. Is it just that it's too dangerous for everyone to admit that the emperor has no clothes, because it would crash the whole system? Is it not a liquid market?

If I were sitting on a bunch of USDT, but I wanted to be holding USD stablecoins, just generally speaking, why not swap them into a different stablecoin?

Maybe another question I should be asking is what proportion of Tether is being used to collateralize leveraged long positions in other crypto assets? Maybe that's why this is a tinder box?

Sorry for all of the questions, but legitimately trying to understand what people are talking about.

Tether is also backed by other stable coins and crypto assets. And that is not even a rumor, it's a fact that they are not denying. I have a strong suspission that Tether is used to pump the price of crypto.

Your link never states that early investors have to know when to exit for the definition to apply.

No one has denied that Bitcoin is an innovator when it comes to new ways to scam and defraud people.