Tether’s USDT Stablecoin Gears Up To Flip Ethereum In Market Cap

• An ongoing event contract on Polymarket indicates Ethereum could lose its spot as the second-largest crypto by market cap this year.
• Analysts expect Tether’s USDT stablecoin to overtake ETH’s overall valuation within the same period.

An ongoing event contract in Polymarket predicts Ethereum (ETH) could lose its second ranking in the cryptocurrency market before 2027 hits. Some analysts claim Tether’s USDT stablecoin will likely take that spot.

Ethereum’s Recent Performance

Ethereum has been trading between $1,939.53 and $2,063.20 per token over the last 24 hours. The figures reflect a 60% to 58% pullback from its all-time high (ATH) of $4,953.73 per ETH in August 2025.

The values bring the market cap of Ether’s 120.69 million circulating supply to around $234.08 billion and $249.01 billion. These are a far cry from its $576.93 billion historical peak seven months ago.

ADVERTISEMENTAs analysts warn of a deeper market correction, many believe Ethereum could eventually lose its position just behind Bitcoin (BTC) in terms of overall valuation. There’s some debate over whether other altcoins, such as BNB or XRP, could snatch Ether’s place. Still, the most likely candidate for that role is USDT amid the rising adoption of stablecoins in both traditional finance (TradFi) and on-chain transactions.

ETH Losing Second Spot in Crypto Rankings

According to Polymarket, investors’ expectations of Ethereum’s potential “flippening” began gaining steam in early February this year. In the final week of last month, 68% of users in the decentralized prediction market agreed that the event could occur within 2026.

Sentiment later pivoted between the “Yes” and “No” sides. However, since last week, participants projecting Ethereum’s fall in the crypto rankings have regained control. As of Monday morning (UTC), 58% to 59% are betting for such an outcome.

ADVERTISEMENTEthereum Flippening (Source: Polymarket)## Tether’s USDT Taking Over

USDT has shown tremendous growth in market cap over the current decade, from $73 billion at the start of 2021 to a record $187 billion at the start of 2026. It represents an over 156% increase in its total value.

Tether’s flagship stablecoin maintains momentum over time, with a market cap of $184.1 billion today. That’s nearly $50 billion less than Ether’s intraday low.

With analysts cautioning that Bitcoin’s cycle bottom could reduce prices by up to 80% its recent ATH, Ethereum could follow due to its tight correlation with BTC at 0.7 over the last 20 trading sessions.

Interestingly, ETH’s price only needs to fall by around 69% to roughly $1,535 per ETH for USDT to overtake its overall valuation. That’s even assuming that the stablecoin maintains its market cap at constant supply. Therefore, the event could accelerate if Tether’s USDT issuance continues to rise amid surging user demand.

Why is Stablecoin Demand Growing?

Stablecoins offer the same transactional speed and efficiency as other on-chain assets, but without users worrying about the volatility inherent in crypto assets. This trait has been instrumental in its evolving role as the foundational liquidity layer for both decentralized finance (DeFi) and traditional payment settlement systems.

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