Dominance of Tether and Circle is a net bad for stablecoins, says Bridge executive
Tether and Circle's dominance stifles stablecoin innovation and competition, according to Bridge's Ben O'Neill. Their fee structures and design choices don't serve all use cases optimally. O'Neill advocates for specialized stablecoins tailored to specific applications and efficient cross-stablecoin clearing systems. More competition could prevent fee increases and make stablecoins function better as money for payments companies and broader adoption.
Key takeaways
- 1Tether ($189.5B) and Circle ($71B) dominate stablecoins but their design choices don't optimize for all use cases.
- 2Tether charges 10 basis points for burning; Circle continuously increases fees, making payments settlement economically unviable.
- 3Bridge executive advocates building specialized stablecoins for specific use cases with efficient cross-stablecoin clearing systems.
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Why it matters
India's crypto users depend on stablecoins for remittances and trading; high burn fees from USDT/USDC directly increase costs for Indian payments platforms and retail traders, making cheaper alternatives critical for mass adoption.
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