My recent idea is to continue long-term staking CRCL, while gradually converting all USDT into USDC. Why think this way? First, we need to understand the power structure of the crypto ecosystem.

Many people believe that exchanges control the entire crypto world. Think about it: project teams need to list tokens, VCs need to cash out, influencers want to generate hype, retail investors aim to profit from price differences—all of these have to bypass exchanges. It feels like exchanges are the ultimate power center.

But in reality, the true top-level power is held by two forces.

First is the U.S. judicial system. It determines who survives and who gets eliminated. No matter how impressive Zhao Changpeng is, he still has to bow before the U.S. Department of Justice—some will go to jail, some will be fined. The deterrent power of this system is evident.

Second is Tether—the operator of USDT. This company has very few employees, very low costs, yet can earn over a hundred billion dollars annually. Why? Because the essence of stablecoins is risk-free arbitrage. But the problem is, USDT has always operated in a gray area, with compliance always hanging like a sword.

USTC is different; it wins on the word "compliance." It will gradually integrate into the mainstream U.S. financial system, becoming the true interface for digital dollars. The market is already signaling this.

After Zhao Changpeng was released, a leading exchange began to heavily promote USDC trading pairs, and even used USDC for perpetual contracts with zero trading fees. At the same time, Interactive Brokers also launched USDC deposit and withdrawal policies. These are no coincidences.

The data is the most convincing. Here are the 2024 financial reports: a compliant platform's net profit is about $2.6 billion, while Tether earned $13 billion in a year. The gap seems large, but Tether's manpower and costs are much lower, and its profit margin is astonishing. This is the magic of stablecoins. However, most of the revenue for trading platforms still comes from transaction fees, while stablecoins earn control over the network. In the long run, the latter's influence will grow increasingly larger.