The hottest technology in crypto right now is the stablecoin, a type of cryptocurrency that is typically pegged to the U.S. dollar. While Tether and Circle’s USDC are the clear leaders right now, it’s very possible a yet-to-be-released stablecoin could emerge as the long-term winner. That’s according to Austin Campbell, a professor and former executive at stablecoin firm Paxos, who shared his thoughts on the latest edition of Fortune’s Crypto Playbook (available on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube).
Stablecoins such as Circle’s USDC and Tether have long been popular among crypto traders as a form of settlement, but a series of high-profile acquisitions and IPOs—as well as Congress passing comprehensive legislation this summer to regulate the technology—have catapulted them into the mainstream. Now, big tech firms and banks alike are exploring integration, while new challengers are entering the market every week.
According to Campbell, there is fierce competition between entrenched stablecoins like Tether and new entrants like Agora—whose appeal lies in the fact that their value doesn’t fluctuate like Bitcoin or Ethereum—but that doesn’t mean a new contender can’t take the throne.
On the latest episode of Fortune’s Crypto Playbook podcast, Campbell compared the current moment in stablecoins to the 1990s for the internet, when services like AOL and Netscape were just getting started. “The stablecoin that will probably dominate the future has not been created yet,” he said. “It’s my prediction.”
