What Are Stablecoins? Their
Purpose and Different Types

Fiat currency isn’t backed by a physical commodity, such as a precious metal . Fiat money is issued by a government as a non-fiat (commodity-backed) currency would, though it still relies on a supply-demand balance to maintain value. The U.S. dollar, for example, is fiat currency (though it used to be non-fiat when it was backed by gold). In the crypto world, stablecoins are about the only asset that has something of a predictable trajectory. Different stablecoins have their own dynamics, benefits, and drawbacks depending on what category they fall into.

For example, you can buy bread from your favorite bakery and pay $4 for it today, knowing that it’s unlikely that it will fall to 99 cents tomorrow drastically. So instead of dollar bills, there might be liquid reserves in the form of bonds, CDs, treasury bonds and cash equivalents. Stablecoins make true peer-to-peer digital transfers possible without the need for third-party intermediaries to facilitate transactions. https://xcritical.com/ For a case of a stablecoin that did not fare as well after depegging, read CoinDesk’s explainer on the rise and fall of Terra. Please note that the availability of the products and services on the Crypto.com App is subject to jurisdictional limitations. Crypto.com may not offer certain products, features and/or services on the Crypto.com App in certain jurisdictions due to potential or actual regulatory restrictions.

How do you pick the right stablecoin?

Investopedia makes no representations or warranties as to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein. Bank merchant account APIs can be integrated what is a stablecoin to enable various payment methods for buying gold-backed tokens. Coinbase wallet or any other third-party wallet can be used to store and transfer stablecoins.

Looking at monthly volume rankings, you can observe that Tether has the second highest trading volume, only second to bitcoin. USDT is the most popular stablecoin on the market that is most commonly used by the community to hedge their positions. In fact, coins are down an average of 80% since their all-time highs, which further reinforces the extreme volatility of cryptocurrencies. They are struggling to maintain their valuation against the US dollars.

Is Bitcoin a stablecoin?

Readers can access a detailed analysis of the fundamentals of stablecoin and the reasons behind its popularity. Currently, the stablecoin ecosystem contains almost 200 stablecoins, making it difficult to compile a comprehensive list. On the other hand, the notable stablecoins listed here can provide valuable insights into the characteristics found in the majority of stablecoins. Dai is unique among stablecoins in that it is decentralized and autonomous. The top 5 stablecoins in 2023 may vary depending on market conditions, but some of the most popular ones currently include Tether , USD Coin , Binance USD , Dai , and TrueUSD . While there are many advantages to using a gold-backed stablecoin, there are also some disadvantages.

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What are the most popular stablecoins?

The Paxos Trust Company, which issues BUSD, is audited monthly by a leading accounting firm to ensure that the number of BUSD tokens in circulation is equal to the number of U.S. dollars held in reserve. This provides users with transparency and confidence in the stability of BUSD. Tether works by linking the value of the cryptocurrency to the value of a real-world asset, which in this case, is the U.S. dollar. This is achieved by the company holding reserves of U.S. dollars equal to the amount of Tether in circulation. For every Tether token issued, there is an equivalent U.S. dollar held in reserve by Tether Limited. In contrast to a currency or asset, seigniorage is generally managed by an algorithm or process.

CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG. Tether has the largest market capitalization among fiat-backed stablecoins, meaning it is the most liquid. Stablecoins also have the potential to act as payment alternatives to fiat currencies. By utilising stablecoins, businesses can accept payments at a very low cost, and governments can run conditional cash transfer programmes more seamlessly.

Collateralized Crypto

Adam received his master’s in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The gold remains in reserve in Singapore while undergoing audits for a period of three months to ensure transparency. INVESTMENT BANKING RESOURCESLearn the foundation of Investment banking, financial modeling, valuations and more. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks.

• This can be a slow and costly process, where families end up losing a big chunk of their funds to high fees.
• The key difference between cryptocurrencies and CBDCs is that the latter is government-backed and issued by a country’s central bank.
• Members should be aware that investment markets have inherent risks, and past performance does not assure future results.
• These are inherently more risky than fiat-backed stablecoins because the potential for the underlying asset to fluctuate is greater.
• If you are developing a stablecoin using the Ethereum platform, you will find various test nets to use.
• Stablecoins streamline this process by having a tokenized option of preserving your value in USD.

Stablecoins on the other hand, have a fixed value relative to the underlying asset. There are different categories to stablecoins that we will explore below. Commodity-collateralized stablecoins are backed by other kinds of interchangeable assets. However, there are also stablecoins backed by oil, real estate, and various precious metals. Stablecoins are a unique payment technology that theoretically gives users the benefits of cryptocurrency with what appears to be more price stability.

What are Stablecoins?

Well-known examples of gold-collateralized coins include PAX Gold and Tether Gold . The issuer mints a fixed number of coins that corresponds to the amount of fiat currency held in reserve. Instead of buying Bitcoin directly with fiat currency a trader might exchange some fiat for a stablecoin — and then trade the stablecoin for another cryptocurrency like Ethereum . The collapse shook the cryptocurrency world, with the world’s largest digital currencies feeling TerraUSD’s knock on effect. Terraform Labs’ founder Do Kwon intends to revive the fallen stablecoin, although the fruition of a potential comeback is yet to be seen. TerraUSD’s founder—Terraform Labs—used advanced algorithms to keep the stablecoin’s value as close to $1 as possible.

EU Adopts Laws for Tracing Crypto-Asset Transfers and Supervision

Various types of crypto projects are currently identifying methods for reducing risk and fostering participation in the wider crypto ecosystem. The different stablecoin types showed the possibilities of integrating stability directly in the crypto assets. This volatility means it’s hard to predict and rely on the value of a cryptocurrency over the medium or long term. To invest in stablecoins, one can purchase them on a cryptocurrency exchange that supports stablecoin trading.