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Stablecoins and payments
A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a fixed value; the mechanism that holds it there determines how the token behaves under stress.
8lessons
58 minreading in all
Foundationwhere it starts
01
Lessons in this track
01
What is a stablecoin, and what are the three families?A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a fixed value; the mechanism that holds it there determines how the token behaves under stress.
6 min · Foundation
02
Fiat-backed stablecoins: what is actually in the reserve?Reserve composition, who is allowed to redeem, and who keeps the interest the reserve earns are the three facts that define a fiat-backed token.
7 min · Working knowledge
03
Crypto-collateralized stablecoins and over-collateralizationLocking volatile collateral to mint a dollar token works only if the surplus, the price feed and the liquidators all hold up at the same time.
7 min · Working knowledge
04
Algorithmic stablecoins and how UST failed in 2022The mint-and-burn loop that holds an uncollateralized peg in calm markets is the same loop that destroys it once confidence turns.
8 min · Advanced
05
Attestations versus audits: what a reserve report provesAn attestation checks a stated figure on a stated date; an audit examines the financial statements as a whole, and the difference is not cosmetic.
7 min · Working knowledge
06
Depegs: how they start, how they resolve, and what is normalSmall deviations from a dollar are a permanent feature of any traded stablecoin; the useful signal is in size, duration and which venues move.
7 min · Working knowledge
07
Stablecoins as a payment rail, compared honestlyA blockchain transfer settles value in minutes, but a payment system also handles disputes, fraud liability, compliance and the conversion at each end.
8 min · Working knowledge
08
How stablecoin reserves are regulated: the main regimesEvery regime answers the same handful of questions about issuance, reserves, segregation and redemption; the differences lie in the answers.
8 min · Advanced
10 lessons
DeFi
10 lessons
How networks work
10 lessons
Institutional access and regulation
10 lessons
Market structure
10 lessons
Protocol economics
12 lessons
Risk
10 lessons
Start here
10 lessons
Supply and issuance
6 lessons
Using this site
12 lessons