A Bloomberg crypto outlook report issued in June has some strong predictions about the market, one of which is that it may only “be a matter of time” before Tether (USDT) trounces Ethereum (ETH) in terms of total market cap. The report, which also covers topics like Bitcoin’s strength as a store of value, also states that Bitcoin (BTC) can sustain itself over $10,000. 

Noting that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed nations away from paper money and into digital payments, Bloomberg says that the rapid rise in market cap “indicates currencies are going digital.” Of Tether’s potential it has this to say,

Absent an unlikely reversal in predominant crypto trends, it should be a matter of time until Tether passes Ethereum...Benefiting from widespread adoption with a viable case as a proxy for the world's reserve currency, there seems little to stop the increasing adoption of the dollar-linked stable coin.

That is a bold claim to make, but Tether is indeed the most popular stablecoin, with stablecoins themselves rising in use over the past 12 months. The report highlights the fact that investment in stablecoins has surged to over $10 billion from less than $5 billion last year.

It also says that Bitcoin’s price is tied in with the appreciation of stablecoins, which makes sense that Bitcoin is largely seen as a store of value for an emerging - or according to Bloomberg, already - established asset class.

Tether recently jumped into 3rd place in total market cap, overtaking XRP. However, it continues to receive criticism from the community - and even prominent analyst Peter Brandt, who labelled it a “Nigerian trinket”.