[Signal Request] Delist USDT as a Collateral Asset

Governance Signal Requests
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#1

Hello Maker Community,

Perhaps this is a request that the Risk Team might have consider taking action on, or perhaps not. And @LongForWisdom and @Primoz might kill me for doing this :sweat_smile:

But, on behalf of the Maker Community–it is our duty to take the bull by the horns and make the tough decisions. After all, we aim to be an independent decentralized autonomous family.

“Je crois en toi” - Inconnu

With regards to Tether’s USDT, do we the Maker Community believe that it should be delisted as an Asset Collateral?

Pros: 1. Delisting USDT might help us reduce our risk, and show the World that the Maker Community does not accept anything less than perfection, honesty, and integrity.

  1. Its simple promise that every unit is “100% backed” by United States dollars has been brought into question many times in recent years. If Regulators worldwide question USDT’s improprieties–accusations of Tether’s Assets would likely get locked up in court battles that could take years to resolve.(I’m no lawyer/solicitor but that is traditionally the path/outcome).

  2. Too many other negative outcomes, you can comment on below

“Invert, always invert: Turn a situation or problem upside down. Look at it backward. What happens if all our plans go wrong? Where don’t we want to go, and how do you get there?” –Charlie Munger

Cons: 1. USDT is one of the most accepted stablecoins in the world. World citizens can consider it a weapon versus totalitarianism. For some USDT might be the best/only option to move money out of their country–without the risk of traditional crypto volatility.

  1. It is the largest stablecoin by market cap–widely use in the entire ecosystem–many traders prefer to settle trades in USDT.

  2. Many exchanges are open to taking USDT. Tether is sometimes compared to and called the Central bank of crypto.

" Affairs are easier of entrance than of exit; and it is but common prudence to see our way out before we venture in ." –Aesop

Please have your Say on the following:

Should Maker DELIST USDT as a Collateral Asset?

  • Yes, we the Maker Community should Delist USDT as a Collateral Asset
  • No, we the Maker Community should continue to support USDT as a Collateral Asset
  • Abstain

0 voters

If the Maker Community wants to continue supporting USDT as a Collateral Asset, we should keep/or lower the Debt Ceiling to:

  • No worries–please keep the DC at 10,000,000
  • Please Lower the DC to 5,000,000
  • Please Lower the DC to 2,500,000
  • Please Lower the DC to 1,000,000

0 voters

I will leave this Poll open until 16:00 UTC, Thursday October 29, 2020.

“We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it.”
― Che Guevara

3 Likes
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USDT has been always shady but now they might be closer to a collaps than anytime before, yet it was added as collaterial?
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#2

@ElProgreso Second Poll needs an Abstain option.

Also both polls need to have ‘Show who Voted’ ticked.

2 Likes
#3

You’re right @Jiecut – I was hoping to keep it anonymous, but perhaps not a good idea. Will wait for LFW and see what he thinks–hopefully he’ll check in this morning.

#4

Imho relevant: DAI from USDT is near zero, so probably no effect on peg

1 Like
#5

Quite the opposite, this is exactly how community does the job well and supports domain teams. I was preparing a similar poll based on this week’s discussions about USDT, so thanks for making my job easier.

I am only wondering if “delist USDT” equals setting DC to 0. Because we can still have USDT turned on but with 0 DC, as one of the options. Not sure what is the difference in practical terms going forward. Maybe @cmooney or someone from SC team can chime in.

5 Likes
#6

indeed interesting, i guess as long as there is DAI minted from the collateraltype, we would always start with setting the DC to zero? is there even a way of really delisting a collateraltype?

#7

We should increase the DC to 50M and leave other parameters exactly the same as for USDC. We should activate liquidations for all stablecoins and have real oracles for the prices instead of a constant. I bet Adam Back thinks USDT is less risky than USDC.

#8

Thank you for the input and the vote of confidence Primoz. Yes, we the Maker Community want to support and help the domain teams. The teams have plenty of work and I hope more of us can help out, as much as possible. Cheers!

1 Like
#9

Tether (USDT) is untrustworthy and as such should be extremely limited or entirely excluded from MCD. There are other options which are more transparent and backed by organizations with integrity.

4 Likes
#10

I think it’s better to keep it and ensure the risk parameters reflect the actual risk.
The main risk is that USDT crashes and the debt ceiling is filled, causing a loss to MakerDAO.
For that reason, and because it isn’t being used anyway, I support lowering the debt ceiling.

1 Like
#11

@ElProgreso since many have already voted, leave it as it is this time. In the future, please make it non-anonymous and add abstain options to each poll.

Thanks for commenting in my absence @jiecut.

2 Likes
#12

Yep–totally mess that one up. Will do LFW. :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
#13

Looks like the Liquid folks are using USDT for Liquid P2P Loans:

Not sure if the Lender earns interest, or if liquidations occur
 :man_shrugging:

#14

I prefer to set the USDT parameters to be actually available, for example: DC = 2500000, LR = 105%, SF = 4%. In this way, DC risk can be reduced and users can be encouraged to use USDT to generate DAI.

#15

Would like to get to 40 Unique Voters here–we have 38 so far. If you have not voted please do so.

As of 2AM UTC on 28/10/2020–USDT is here to stay and the community is currently in favour of a 2.5M Debt Ceiling.

Also, if anybody has ideas on how we can encourage USDT as a collateral–please post your marvelous ideas here–we can use all the help in making USDT users get excited about minting DAI. :beers:

#16

Hello All–Less than 4 hours to go Before the USDT Poll closes.

If you have Not Voted --Please have your say :slightly_smiling_face:

#17

The governance poll to Adjust the USDT-A DC from 10 million DAI to 2.5 million DAI passed last week with 28k MKR in support.

Yes - 28,338.78 MKR
No - 24,600.82 MKR

Voting Stats:

Total Votes

53,142.86 MKR

Unique Voters

25

The bundled executive was passed on Nov 8, 22:19 UTC, available for execution on Nov 11, 22:19 UTC.

1 Like
#18

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