Moody’s Drops Truth Bomb: Circle & Tether Won’t Be Dethroned by Stablecoin Rivals Anytime Soon
The stablecoin duopoly isn’t crumbling—yet. Despite hype about an explosion of competitors, Moody’s Analytics just slapped the market with a reality check: Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT won’t face serious disruption in the near term.
Why? Network effects and liquidity moats. The incumbents’ deep integrations—from exchanges to DeFi protocols—create barriers even VC-funded startups can’t easily vault. Plus, regulators eye stablecoins like hawks now, raising the compliance cost of entry.
New entrants face a brutal calculus: burn cash chasing liquidity or niche down into marginal use cases. Meanwhile, Tether keeps printing money (sometimes controversially) while Circle cosplays as the compliant golden child.
Prediction? The ‘thousands of competitors’ narrative is pure hopium—for now. The real threat? Central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) eventually muscling in. But until then, enjoy the dollar-pegged duopoly… and the irony of ‘decentralized finance’ relying on centralized stablecoins.
