Tether Continues to Dominate Crypto in Volume Despite Controversy

Analysis from Binance Research shows that stablecoins are dominating market share and volume. As of 1st May 2019, on the Binance platform, stablecoins accounted for 61% of all crypto volume. This compares with just over 36% at the same time last year. While USD-backed stablecoins lead the pack, concerns over the viability of Tether are not reflected in its net inflows.

This is a completely different market than it was a year ago.

Latest report from @BinanceResearch shows how stable coins are eating the market share of crypto volumes.

USDS went from 1/3rd to 3/5ths in 12 months. That's a fundamental change. pic.twitter.com/vGAzFePGXs

— Mati (@MatiGreenspan) June 3, 2019

Stablecoins For Mass Adoption

Binance Research found that stablecoins are rising in popularity. They attribute part of the reason to the introduction of several new stablecoin pairs on the Binance platform. But more than that, some analysts believe this trend is indicative of maturation within the crypto space.

Cryptocurrencies have long been characterized as highly unstable. That being so, stablecoins present an appropriate mechanism with which to deal with volatility. Simone D. Casadei Bernardi, senior partner at Blockchain ConsultUS sees stablecoins as key for moving the crypto space forward, he said:

“…the widespread adoption of stablecoins will unlock the enormous potential of the blockchain — provided that they serve as a medium of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account at the same time.”

As such, while stablecoins bring centralized risk, this is the trade-off necessary for newcomers, and the risk-averse, to build trust within the crypto ecosystem. Tatiana Koffman, a partner at investment company FullCycle, believes stablecoins will be a significant factor to mass adoption. On their importance for cryptocurrency, she said:

“The vision for stablecoins is larger than that of bitcoin. The total addressable market for stablecoins is essentially all of the money in the world, or approximately $90 trillion. As a result, they are frequently dubbed as the ‘holy grail’ of financial technology. Stablecoins promise an on-ramp into the crypto world that a retail user can easily trust and understand, paving the way for wider acceptance and adoption of programmable money and securities.”

Investigations In Tether’s Dealings

Having said that, stablecoins are not without their controversies. And their rising prominence brings new concerns over issues to do with price-fixing, privacy, and government hostilities. All of which have the potential to damage the crypto market severely.

Most notably, the on-going hearing by the NY Supreme Court into the dealings of Tether. Which one Twitter influencer believes will have negative consequences, regardless of which way the ruling goes. @VisionzCapital said:

“If @bitfinex / #Tether and their parent company iFinex cease to exist, $BTC probably will never ever reach 10k again. The sad truth is that, #cryptocurrency has so much potential, but it lacks appropriate regulations to contain bad actors and for it to gain mainstream adoption.”

Tether Continues To Dominate

While it’s true that Tether has competition, it continues to dominate the stablecoins. And rather worrying, the latest data from Binance Research shows little sign of this changing. Net inflows were close to $1 billion, a rate that towers over the next nearest rival, USDC, which had a net inflow of just under $42 million for the same period.

“Though Tether’s market cap is much bigger than the cumulative market capitalization of all five other stablecoins discussed in the table above [USDC, TUSD, PAX, USDS, GUSD], these inflows still represent an increase of around 50% of Tether’s total supply, particularly notable in a period of turmoil for the company.”

Despite the criticisms leveled at Tether, it continues to lead the stablecoin market. And while there is a concerted effort to topple Tether, for example in critical exchanges agreeing to list alternatives, it’s apparent that the Tether name still has sway. John Moore wrote:

“It would seem then, for now, that the brand recognition and established nature of Tether is enough to simultaneously drown out the voices of even the most vociferous of doubters, and hinder any wannabe looking to step into that market cap chasm.”