I'm not sticking my neck out very far today. It's still worth saying, though: The USDC (USDC 0.01%) stablecoin will be worth $1 per coin in 2035.
There you go. The same coin is also worth $1 today, and I don't expect much volatility over the next decade. Any time you sample USDC's latest price, it should be no more than 0.1% away from the intended value. Right now, for example, it's 0.02% below the $1 price target, and that's not a typo. I really mean two one-hundredths of one percent. That's how stable this coin is.
I could say the same thing about Tether (USDT 0.03%), Ripple USD (RLUSD 0.02%), and TrueUSD (TUSD 0.08%). Applying the same statement to algorithmic and crypto-backed options like Dai (DAI 0.07%) would be a slightly greater risk, but I'm feeling adventurous today -- all five of these robust stablecoins will be worth $1 in 10 years.
And that's exactly what makes them valuable. Let me explain.
CRYPTO: USDC
Key Data Points
The unsung heroes of your crypto toolbox
A cryptocurrency that sticks closely to $1 for decades may not sound like a great investment. And you're right -- stablecoins exist for a different purpose. They don't build wealth over time and they don't execute smart contracts. Some of them offer reasonable interest rates, like a savings account in the cryptocurrency space. But generally speaking, stablecoins aren't great investments on their own.
Most crypto investors end up using stablecoins from time to time -- perhaps without even noticing it. Let's say you just opened a Coinbase (COIN +1.08%) account, sending in $1,000 from a traditional bank account to fund your first crypto investments. The first thing that happens is that Coinbase converts the $1,000 dollar-based funding into USDC.
Coinbase classifies your USDC balance as a "cash" position. It's presented right next to a US dollar balance, which is available if you insist but usually shows a zero-dollar total. You see, USDC is a much more convenient way for Coinbase to move dollar-based funds around in its systems. The company also has a direct financial interest in USDC, having co-launched it in a collaboration with Circle Internet Group (CRCL 3.94%) seven years ago.
So Coinbase prefers trading in your dollars for USDC coins, and then you can treat that stablecoin exactly as you would manage an actual cash balance in the same account. Coinbase currently offers a 4.1% annual percentage yield on USDC coins, but direct dollar holdings don't earn any interest. Just one more reason to store your old-school cash in the newfangled stablecoin format.
Hey Dave, wanna hear the crypto market's worst-kept secret? Image source: Getty Images.
How USDC and Tether keep their dollar peg
The largest stablecoins, like Tether and USDC, are backed by actual cash reserves. The coin managers match the total market value of their stablecoins with an equal amount of financial assets, usually in the form of interest-bearing federal Treasury bonds.
That may sound boring, but it's a classic business model with strong echoes of traditional banking. It's a lucrative system, too. Circle Internet generated $1.66 billion of revenue from its interest-bearing cash reserves in 2024. The USDC backing accounts held $43.9 billion of cash equivalents at the end of last year. Coinbase reported $910.5 million of stablecoin revenues for the same period, reflecting its USDC interests.
So there are strong ties between the stablecoin universe and the good old U.S. dollar. Stablecoins are not investments, but handy tools for moving money around in an all-digital system. And they form a user-friendly bridge between the two economies. I think of the decent interest rate as a thank-you note, rewarding me for helping Coinbase run a smoother trading platform.
CRYPTO: USDT
Key Data Points
The risks behind algorithmic stablecoins
The cash reserves behind leading stablecoins such as USDC, TrueUSD, and Tether give me confidence in their long-term robustness. Come back in five years, or 10, or 20, and I expect their prices to stay exactly where they are today. As long as their backers remain in business, the stablecoins will be worth a dollar.
In a perfect world, I'd have the same unshakable confidence in experimental stablecoins like Dai. However, Dai's backers don't hold massive cash reserves. Instead, the stablecoin's $1 value relies on mathematical algorithms and some Ethereum (ETH 1.90%) holdings. Sudden shifts in Ethereum's valuation could move Dai's value far away from $1, at least temporarily. The algorithmic stablecoin meltdown of 2022 demonstrated the risks of this approach, though Dai's Ethereum basis should be reliable enough. That's why I'm keeping an asterisk next to this particular $1 price target.
But yeah, most of today's leading stablecoins will surely be worth $1 per coin in 2025, including USDC. And that's alright. I'm not really investing in USDC, anyway.
