Take a look at the chart below. It shows that stablecoin flows, driven primarily by Tether, reflect spot outflows and derivative inflows, proving that crypto’s gains are largely manufactured through leverage rather than organic demand. Tether functions as crypto’s shadow central bank. Whenever real liquidity dries up, Tether mints new USDT, with zero verifiable backing, to flood derivatives markets. This artificial liquidity fuels leveraged trading rather than genuine spot buying, inflating prices through recursive leverage rather than new capital. The chart exposes this cycle: when Tether injections rise, derivatives volume spikes while spot demand weakens. It’s a feedback loop where synthetic money props up synthetic gains, masking the absence of real inflows and effectively rigging the entire game. This isn’t sustainable. It’s one of countless reasons why Bitcoin’s eventual collapse to nothingness will be a historic event, studied by future generations as the defining financial mania of our time.(Jacob King)