Earlier this month popular stablecoin Tether (USDT) appeared to drift off its dollar-pegged tracks, dropping by 5 percent to 0.95 cents. It has since recovered somewhat but in the process, lost the trust of investors and attracted further skepticism regarding its fiat reserves.
In the wake of the scandal, a meme surfaced suggesting that Bitcoin is now the new stablecoin. Despite clearly being a joke, the meme is closer to reality than we might think. Over the past month, Bitcoin (BTC) has changed in price less than any other top 10 cryptocurrency, including Tether. In fact, a number of cryptocurrencies have maintained a highly stable value in the past 30 days.
Bitcoin is up only 0.21 percent since September 26, with Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and EOS all exhibiting approximately only 0.5 percent change. Tether, by comparison, is down 2.15 percent – meaning everyone’s $1 tethers are now worth less than $0.98.
Not all coins are enjoying such stability though, with Ethereum (ETH) and Cardano (ADA) down 6 percent and Litecoin (LTC) and Monero (XMR) down 10 percent each over the past month.
So does this mean Bitcoin has finally achieved low-volatility and can now be used as a real-life, tradeable currency? Not likely. History has shown that periods of low-volatility are usually followed by sudden and extreme fluctuations, usually a massive rally and the resulting correctional slump.
With the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) recently announcing the launch of institutional crypto-investment platform Bakkt planned for December 12, it certainly seems the cards are aligning for an impending bull run of note.
