This is great cause we should talk about this more. The danger is not going to knock on the front door, it's going to be hard to see by design

I agree with all of this, aside from one thing. This is pure speculation but how logical game theory would play out, is that they did not approach the US govt--the US govt approached them.

They would have offered a stick (jail, shut down, etc.) and a carrot (freedom, $$$$$$$$). Tether took the carrot. This is just how i would expect it to happen with every stablecoin issuer at scale. It's complicated and nuanced with pros and cons, but tether is captured by the state--which means that it's effectively a CBDC with extra steps.