The difference is that USDC is run by a US-based public corporation and its managers are US citizens that live in the US. If USDC is a fraud (or even just materially misrepresented), they go to jail.
Is that a guarantee? No, but I don't understand why anyone would use USDT instead of USDC.
Maybe! First, they have to get caught; Bernie Madoff managed to run his ponzi for decades, running the value up to $65B. Jail for misrepresentation is pretty rare; IIRC only one person in the entire 2009 financial crisis wound up with jail time.
> No, but I don't understand why anyone would use UST instead of USDC.
That's fair, I just don't understand using either.
Only one person in the US. He was sentenced for two and half years, about half a year less than the average US jail sentence for selling pot. Other countries, especially Iceland, actually did crack down on their bankers.
Is that a guarantee? No, but I don't understand why anyone would use USDT instead of USDC.
[edit: s/UST/USDT]