Stablecoins

54 coins #13 Page 2

Stablecoins are digital currencies backed by things like regular money or commodities, which means they have a steady value. More

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# Coins Price Market cap 24h

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51 BiLira TRYB $ --
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52 Dopple DOP $ --
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53 Reflexer Ungovernance Token FLX $ --
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54 Level USD LVLUSD $ --
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Trending Stablecoins

Top gainers

Coins Price Market cap 24h
Reservoir DAM $ 0.0259
$ 8.01M
$ 8.01 million
+6.45%
PAX Gold PAXG $ 4,579.61
$ 1.75B
$ 1.75 billion
+1.30%
USD Base Coin USDBC $ 1.01
$ 8.24M
$ 8.24 million
+0.73%
EURC EURC $ 1.17
$ 291.27M
$ 291.27 million
+0.47%
Curve.Fi USD Stablecoin CRVUSD $ 0.997
$ 147.60M
$ 147.60 million
+0.38%
All gainers

What is a stablecoin?

A stablecoin is a blockchain token engineered to hold a steady price by anchoring its value to an off-chain asset—typically the US dollar, euro, gold, or a basket of commodities.
Instead of 50 % daily swings like BTC, stablecoins aim for ±1 % variance, making them the settlement layer of crypto trading, remittances, and on-chain lending.
Combined market-cap exceeds $160 B; on some days USDT + USDC settle more dollar value than Visa.

Quick Facts

  • Purpose: Dollar (or gold) proxy inside smart-contract ecosystems; escape volatility without off-ramping to banks.
  • Peg mechanisms: Fiat reserves, over-collateralised crypto, algorithms, or hybrid.
  • Blockchains: 80 % issued on Ethereum; also Tron, BSC, Solana, Avalanche, Stellar.
  • Velocity: USDT averages >$40 B daily transfer value—double Bitcoin’s on-chain volume.
  • Regulatory lens: Payment stablecoins face MiCA in EU and draft US bills requiring 1:1 cash or Treasury backing.

Top Stablecoins (Live Examples)

Token Ticker Backing Type 2024 Circulating Auditors / Attestations
Tether USDT Fiat (USD) 110 B BDO (quarterly)
USD Coin USDC Fiat (USD) 32 B Grant Thornton (monthly)
Binance USD BUSD Fiat (USD)* 0.1 B Paxos (halted new mints)
True USD TUSD Fiat (USD) 0.5 B Moore HK (real-time dashboard)
DAI DAI Crypto (150 % ETH/BTC) 5.3 B Maker surplus buffer >$100 M
Frax FRAX Partial algo (95 % USD + 5 % FXS) 1.1 B DefiSafety score 93 %
Origin Dollar OUSD Basket (USDT, USDC, DAI) 60 M OpenZeppelin audits

How It Works

  1. User wires $1 M to issuer’s bank → issuer mints 1 M stablecoins on-chain.
  2. Token trades 1:1 on exchanges; arbitrage bots keep parity.
  3. Redemption portal – send 1 M tokens back → receive $1 M wire (Tether, Circle) or collateral auction (Maker).
  4. Reserve proof – monthly attestations or real-time dashboards show 1:1 backing.
  5. Smart-contract layer – DAI/FRAX mint only when users lock >$1.50 of crypto for each $1 stable.

Benefits

  • Volatility shelter – park profits during crypto drawdowns without off-ramping to banks.
  • 24/7 settlement – remit USD across borders in minutes for < $1 fee.
  • DeFi collateral – 80 % of on-chain loans use stablecoins as margin.
  • High yield – lend on Aave/Compound for 2-8 % APR vs 0.5 % bank savings.
  • FX access – Argentinians, Turks, Nigerians hold USD-stablecoins to escape local inflation.

Risks & Trade-offs

  • Custodial risk – bank freeze or issuer bankruptcy can break 1:1 peg (see BUSD shutdown).
  • Transparency gaps – Tether paid $41 M fine for reserve misstatements; off-shore banks add counter-party risk.
  • Regulatory crackdowns – EU MiCA bans interest-bearing stablecoins unless licensed as e-money.
  • Algorithmic death-spiral – UST lost $40 B in 3 days when LUNA backing collapsed.
  • Smart-contract bugs – DAI survived Black Thursday liquidations only via emergency MKR mint.
  • Sanctions exposure – Circle froze 75 K USDC addresses linked to Tornado Cash.

Final Thoughts

Stablecoins are the bridge between volatile crypto and the stable dollar economy—letting traders hedge, workers remit, and DeFi users collateralise without touching a bank.
The trade-off is trust: fiat-backed coins rely on auditors and banks, while crypto-backed ones rely on over-collateralisation and smart-contract correctness.
Treat them like digital dollars, but keep an eye on reserve attestations, regulatory headlines, and black-list policies before parking life-savings.

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