The private stablecoin market will surge parabolically in the next four years despite the existing regulatory uncertainty, Unstoppable Domains CEO Matthew Gould believes.
In a Thursday interview with Business Insider, Gould predicted that the stablecoin market would hit $1 trillion by 2025 to see roughly a tenfold increase from around $115 billion at the time of writing.
“We may even do it quicker than that,” the CEO noted, adding that the global stablecoin adoption will be partly driven by the growing acceptance of decentralized finance applications. “The more people with stablecoins in the pocket, the more people who can participate in decentralized finance,” Gould said.
Despite being optimistic about the future of stablecoins, Gould still emphasized that a rapid surge of this digital asset type is associated with certain financial risks, including concerns over stablecoins’ volatility and their 1:1 backing with pegged assets like the United States dollar. “Whenever you have that kind of growth, you’re gonna have risk. You shouldn’t be able to call yourself a $1 coin if you don’t actually have $1 in the bank,” he noted.
However, Gould is still confident that the greater regulatory clarity and the growing competition in the stablecoin market will gradually eliminate these risks. “Groups like Circle with their USDC have taken the most conservative and safest approach in building out their stable coins. And they’ve been really actively engaged in the US to ensure that they’re compliant,” the CEO added.
Related: Fed Chair says stablecoins need stricter regulation, speaks on CBDC
Apart from forecasting a major stablecoin market surge, Gould is also optimistic about the crypto market in general, expecting the industry to continue consolidating in the long run. However, the CEO doesn’t expect Bitcoin (BTC) to near its all-time highs for at least one year after reaching $64,000 in April, stating:
“I think we’re going to continue to be range-bound for the rest of this year. This is based on past experience, typically when the market crashes 50% or more, it takes a year or two of consolidation.”
Gould’s remarks come amid global financial regulators increasing attention to stablecoins like Tether (USDT) and USD Coin (USDC) amid more concerns over the rapid stablecoin growth as the market surged from less than $1 billion in 2019 to over $100 billion. In mid-July, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called on financial authorities to quickly establish a proper regulatory framework for stablecoins. Previously, the Japanese Ministry of Finance disclosed plans to develop stricter global rules for digital currencies, particularly fiat-pegged stablecoins.