Meaning of stablecoin | Babel Free

Definitions

A cryptocurrency with price stability by design, often pegged to a stable asset such as the US dollar.

Equivalents

Examples

“Several other companies have⟳ recently introduced so-called stablecoins, linked to the value of the dollar. JPMorgan Chase⟳ even said it was experimenting with the concept last⟳ month.”

“The first attempt⟳ to scale a stablecoin came from Maker. At the time of writing, there are about half a billion dollars worth of cryptocurrency tied up as collateral for this stablecoin—the Dai—whose value is pegged to the US dollar.”

“So investors buy⟳ stablecoins not to make⟳ a profit but instead as a place⟳ to store money within the cryptocurrency infrastructure and to use⟳ when buying and selling other crypto assets. […] The first stablecoin was created in 2014 to help⟳ facilitate transactions in the crypto system because at the time, banks were reluctant to give⟳ accounts to crypto companies, McKeon said.”

“But the meltdown gathered momentum this week when TerraUSD, a stablecoin, imploded. Stablecoins, which are meant to be a more reliable means of exchange⟳, are typically pegged to a stable asset such as the U.S. dollar and are intended not to fluctuate in value.”

“Until six months ago, stablecoins were a niche pursuit, used mostly in crypto trading and criminal activity.”

CEFR level