Critical Stablecoin Competition for Regulatory Participation – Tether CEO
According to Tether CEO Paolo Arduino, Ripple's move to launch its own stablecoin adds more legitimacy to the stablecoin landscape.
Speaking exclusively to Cointelegraph at Blockchain Week in Paris, Arduino said a stable coin ecosystem needs healthy competition between the big players to make fiat-backed tokens more legitimate in the eyes of regulators.
“It's great in the first race. I always believed that Teter could not be alone. Stablecoin is an ecosystem industry because there are so many players, Arduino said.
Stablecoins have become an increasingly important cog in the broader cryptocurrency space. With a total market capitalization of more than $130 billion by April 2024, Stablecoin offers a wide range of services from centralized exchanges to decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols.
Arduino says that the presence of several credible players offering stablecoins shows the growing importance of the sector.
“Being multiplayer helps with conversations with controllers. If you are alone and have a single product, regulators will never take you seriously. If you have a team of great companies, you are more effective.
Arduino believes that Ripple's intention to launch a stablecoin later in 2024 marks a place for more players to offer a legitimate fiat-backed token.
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“I believe there is room for everyone. “Given that the United States prints around $1 trillion every 100 days, the space is probably 30 times larger than that,” said Tether's CEO.
Tether market dominance
Tether (USDT) is the leading stablecoin by market capitalization, valued at $108 billion as of April 17. USD Coin (USDC) USDT is the second largest stablecoin by market cap at $32 billion.
Arduino believes that the adoption of stablecoins like USDT and USDC is a direct result of high inflation and devaluation of national currencies around the world.
“Think about Argentina, Turkey, Venezuela, Vietnam or Brazil. All these countries are looking for alternatives to the national currency. Inflation in these countries and nations is going through the roof, Arduino said.
He added that more than 2 billion people living on an income of less than $300 a month remain unbanked. This leaves large numbers of people unbanked and unable to transact in the normal economy.
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The growing accessibility of digital wallets means that people are able to save in digital currencies like USDT or USDC. As Arduino says, the simplicity of these offerings reflects the grim reality of the world's economic landscape:
“The USDT digital dollar is nothing. It is simply powered by blockchain. The sad fact is that the success of Statcoins is directly proportional to the macroeconomic issues that are happening in this world.
Arduino is circulating USDT is overvalued by 106%. Tether intends to move to 100% reserves in US Treasury bills. It currently holds about $90 billion in Treasury bonds.
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