In the next crypto bull run, the possibility exists for XRP to temporarily flip Tether's market cap and take back the 3rd spot it held in 2017
The epic 2017 crypto bull run was a defining moment for the blockchain industry. Driven by retail investor FOMO and speculation, prices for top cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum soared to unimaginable heights before crashing down in 2018's enduring bear market.
Tether (USDT), however, was unfazed by this turbulence. As a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, its price floated steadily around $1 throughout 2017 and 2018. However, USDT saw its market cap swell from around $10 million to nearly $2 billion by the end of 2017 as traders flocked to the relative safety of stablecoins amidst the market mania.
When the crypto winter arrived in 2018, the speculators fled, and XRP came crashing back down, declining nearly 90% within a year. But while XRP languished, USDT's dominance only grew. Its market cap passed $10 billion in 2020 as it became the reserve trading pair for most cryptocurrency exchanges.