Original author: Jacob King, original translation: zhouzhou, BlockBeats
Summary: The author points out the significant influence and potential risks that entities like Tether, Bitfinex, and Strategy have on the actual adoption of Bitcoin.
Editor's Note: Recently, a Twitter article about Bitcoin and Tether has sparked widespread discussion in the English community, with a single tweet receiving over 800,000 views. The author Jacob King transforms into a staunch Bitcoin bear in the article, pointing out that the Bitcoin market is manipulated by Tether, Bitfinex, and other 'insiders,' maintaining the illusion of price through false demand, circular buying, and unlimited money printing. Jacob believes that the so-called 'government and institutional entry' is a manufactured narrative, essentially a Ponzi scheme; once liquidity crisis occurs, the market will face a collapse.
The following is the original content (for readability, the original content has been edited):
The whole story of Bitcoin is a carefully orchestrated illusion, orchestrated by insiders, aimed at making you believe that governments and institutions 'are fully involved' — making you think that the prosperity of this market is driven by real demand.
But in reality, this is the largest bubble in human history, destined to become the most severe financial scandal ever.
Please ask yourself: if Bitcoin is truly decentralized and truly that strong...
Why is it always the same forces controlling the narrative, mastering wallets, and influencing laws?
This is all just a smokescreen; here is the evidence.
El Salvador's so-called Bitcoin 'investment' is a carefully crafted illusion.
There is no evidence of any purchases; the latest blockchain data shows that of the 6,114 Bitcoins in their treasury, 6,111 were not bought at all — but were directly transferred from Bitfinex and Tether.
Without a doubt, they are behind it. By the way, Tether even personally drafted all of El Salvador's Bitcoin-related laws.
This is not 'national-level adoption,' but a liquidity laundering scheme disguised as government action, aimed at misleading retail investors into thinking 'even the government is buying, you should too.'
No wonder the corrupt Bukele is willing to cooperate; Tether settles everything with bribes, treating El Salvador as a puppet.
Bukele harvests media exposure, Bitfinex gains liquidity, and Tether survives once more.
Those who haven't caught up may not know: El Salvador has quietly abandoned its plan for Bitcoin to be legal tender because the entire experiment has completely failed. The Chivo wallet has essentially gone bankrupt and closed, with a usage rate plummeting by 98.9% after launch.
Not even Tether and its internal networks can save it — because there is no real market demand.
Jack Mallers is a key figure in this circle — closely tied to the Tether-Bitfinex operational system.
His new company Twenty One Capital claims to be making large-scale Bitcoin investments. However, on-chain data shows that as many as 14,000 Bitcoins (over $2 billion) come directly from Tether's reserves.
They claim there is significant market demand, but the only recorded investment in them is from Tether — a company found guilty of lying to investors and committing fraud. Too suspicious…
This is not investment, but internal accounting — yet another 'shell company performance,' part of this massive liquidity circus. Mallers' other company, Strike, has long been closely tied to Tether. 100% of its payment transactions rely on Tether.
This is not innovation, but a variant of monopoly.
Michael Saylor is playing the same reflexive Ponzi loop game.
I am sure Saylor is also connected to the internal circle that supports the entire situation. His company MicroStrategy is not 'innovating' — it is one of the most aggressive and highly leveraged stocks in the market. Their so-called 'investment in Bitcoin' is actually just shearing the sheep of Bitcoin.
Their tactics are very clear:
Financing → Buying Bitcoin → Pumping prices → Refinancing → Repeat cycle.
This is a closed-loop scam built on 'hope' and 'speculation.'
What Saylor promotes is not the concept of 'hard currency,' but a desire to prolong this situation a bit longer — so that he can reap the most benefits before the music stops.
Tether and Bitcoin are trapped in a circular endorsement trap — Tether supports Bitcoin, and Bitcoin in turn supports Tether. This structure is a ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment.
At the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Bitcoin extremist and author of 'The Bitcoin Standard' Saifedean Ammous finally spoke the unspoken words in everyone's hearts:
'Tether is quietly accumulating Bitcoin, continually expanding its reserves. One day, its Bitcoin reserves will surpass its USD reserves. By then, Tether will not only maintain its peg, but may even appreciate. Imagine: a 'stablecoin' worth over $1, backed not by U.S. Treasuries, but by Bitcoin.'
This is almost a replay of the Mt. Gox and Lehman Brothers collapses: once liquidity breaks, this house of cards will collapse instantly. There are no real assets supporting it, only a pile of unstable mutual endorsements.
Get ready — an epic crash is already on the way.
At the Bitcoin 2025 conference, Tether announced it holds over 100,000 Bitcoins and 50 tons of gold.
It sounds very off. Let's look at its operational process:
1. Tether conjures money out of thin air, printing millions (or more) of USDT;
2. Use these newly printed Tether to buy Bitcoin and raise the price;
3. Sell the excess Bitcoin for USD and gold as 'reserves';
4. Then take these reserves out for display, proving themselves 'legitimate and compliant';
5. Meanwhile, the group of Bitcoin extremists (faithful sheep) in the audience are still cheering, thinking everything is real.
Tether's skeptics have actually been right all these years. We pointed out years ago that Tether was quietly accumulating Bitcoin while they were still denying it. Now they aren’t even pretending anymore. Tether is the only major buyer in the entire Bitcoin market — everything relies on its continuous money printing and bailouts.
This is the ultimate 'house of cards.' Once it collapses, no one will be able to save it.
The so-called 'institutional Bitcoin demand' is just a passing fad.
On June 2, the Bitcoin spot ETF experienced a net outflow of $267.5 million, and this has already been the third consecutive day of large withdrawals. This is not a coincidence — this trend has persisted for months, indicating that institutions are rapidly withdrawing.
As early as the end of 2021, the inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs had reached tens of billions of dollars, coinciding with the peak of market frenzy. But since then, institutional interest has collapsed by over 91%. The ongoing outflows reflect that market confidence is declining, with tightening regulations, increasing volatility, and unclear profit prospects.
Institutions were supposed to be the 'pillar' of Bitcoin prices, but now they are collectively fleeing. What is called 'institutional entry' was just the hype and FOMO of the time. Smart money has already quietly exited.
To make matters worse, even the relatively 'crypto-friendly' SEC (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission) is becoming cautious. They are reportedly hesitant to approve more Bitcoin spot ETFs from institutions like Bitwise and Grayscale, citing that the anti-fraud protection mechanisms are too weak.
The entire Bitcoin ecosystem is actually a game of 'smoke and mirrors.' This industry is not supported by real demand, but by a group of insiders (like Tether and Bitfinex) constantly manipulating — they repeatedly shift coins and liquidity, carefully creating the illusion of 'adoption waves' and 'market heat.'
They have built a powerful narrative system, successfully convincing the public that 'governments and institutions are heavily entering the market.' But the reality? This is just a sophisticated pump-and-dump and market support scam.
If you are clear-headed enough to see through the noise, you will realize how dangerous this is. The price of Bitcoin is not driven by natural growth or real institutional demand, but almost entirely relies on Tether's infinite money printing and subsequent purchases of BTC to maintain the price. Currently, over 90% of Bitcoin buy orders in the market are backed by Tether's investments. And once the U.S. government (currently pushed by Trump's camp) imposes strict regulations on stablecoins, this 'liquidity faucet' will be turned off, and the Bitcoin market will face a brutal liquidation.
Bitcoin ultimately not only cannot break through $100K, but may even directly fall below $10K. The so-called 'institutional demand' has long disappeared, and internal players are gradually being exposed; this artificially supported illusion cannot last much longer.
This entire narrative is a manufactured illusion, a house of cards that will collapse the moment reality's wind blows.
Please be vigilant: this is not 'the hard currency of the future,' but a ticking financial bomb.
'Original link'
