My hunch is that the long term implications of the Tether and Bittrex connection are not as stark as the market seems to think. Here are some reasons why:
Woo! Tether!
Both companies (Bittrex and Tether) have received legal compliance requests before. It's unlikely that this event will lead to the crash of the USDT/%s pairs as a mechanism of maintaining a stable account during market/macro shifts.
Even in the unlikely case it does, crypto-traders are more likely to revert to BTC/ETH/XRP pairs than change investment platforms.
In some ways, this almost seems like a positive thing in the long run regardless of the direction of the change, as it accelerates the stabilization of BTC/ETH/XRP.
Finally, playing devils advocate for Tether, does it really matter if tether is no longer backed by the USD?
Isn't the community's faith in the fact that 1USDT == 1USD enough to continue its use? While this may have complex legal implications, It's worth noting that most fiats are no longer backed by anything but the faith of individuals in their respective governments.
Is there anyone who understands smart contracts who wouldn't put more faith in them to execute their commands than an individual/organization?
Thanks for the read!