Market Snapshot: How else can the value logic of USDT be understood?

Today I came across an interesting question—what justifies the stablecoin USDT in maintaining its value? At first glance, it seems like a simple question, but it actually touches on the core of the entire stablecoin ecosystem.

USDT's status as the settlement standard in the crypto market is not arbitrary. Its value derives from its mapping to the US dollar's credit and the long-term market consensus on its use. Every USDT is backed by an equivalent amount of USD assets, which is the fundamental reason it functions as a pricing currency in trading pairs.

But this also prompts reflection: during periods of extreme market volatility, can this "one-to-one" promise always be fulfilled? The upper limit of a stablecoin's value is its backing reserve's creditworthiness. Therefore, instead of asking whether USDT can appreciate, it’s more relevant to ask how market trust in its backing assets changes—that is the true factor determining its purchasing power.