A stable coin is a cryptocurrency that is tied to reserve assets to provide price stability. The two most popular cryptocurrencies are Bitcoin and Ethereum, and their prices are quite volatile. Stablecoins limit price volatility by linking their market worth to a third-party benchmark As a result, As digital money assets, they’ve grown in popularity.
FIAT money is just currency that we utilise in our daily lives. It might be in EUR, USD, or GBP. They could also reflect the value of other stable assets like gold, oil, or stocks. The appropriate quantity of crypto tokens to be issued is determined by the collateral. Stablecoins that are crypto-collateralized are backed by other cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies are over-collateralized due to their large price volatility. For issuing fewer stablecoins, a higher a reserve of a certain amount of cryptocurrency tokens can be kept.
The entire market capitalization of all stable coins in the world has surpassed USD 150 billion today. They control over half of all worldwide crypto transaction volume, making them a valuable asset in the Defi ecosystem.
Stablecoins’ Advantages
For crypto investors, stable coins offer numerous key advantages:
- You can sell your other cryptos and move the money into a stable coin if you just made a significant profit on a run-up in the price of one or more cryptos, or if you wish to liquidate your positions due to market volatility.
- Interest is paid on some stablecoins. The interest paid on stablecoins is many times larger than that paid on bank accounts, hence this is becoming a more typical arrangement. Interest rates in the 8 percent to 9 percent range are relatively uncommon.
- Transfers are inexpensive. Transferring payments with stablecoins can be surprisingly cheap, especially when dealing with significant quantities.
- Return to cryptocurrency without having to transfer funds from your bank. Stablecoins make a crypto exchange account more liquid. You’ll have ready cash to buy more cryptocurrency if you keep your money in stablecoins. Because stablecoins are also crypto, they can easily be converted into other cryptocurrencies.
- Return funds to US dollar assets. Because the value of stable coins is linked to the US dollar, transferring monies from your crypto exchange to your bank account is simple. Stablecoins can also be used to make international payments for the same reasons.
- Stablecoins are more competitive than other crypto tokens because they address consumer and business pain points that Bitcoin and other tokens do not address, such as transaction stability and scalability.
Stablecoins are divided into four categories:
- Fiat-backed stablecoins: Which are stable coins that are backed by a fiat currency or several monetary fiat (Dollars, Euros, Japanese Yen, and so on are examples of different currencies.)
- Commodity backed Stablecoins: Backed by physical assets like gold or other precious metals.
- Crypto backed stablecoins: Although Stablecoins backed by crypto are linked to a fiat currency, they are backed by more digital currency (such as bitcoin or ether).
- Algo based stablecoins: Stablecoins based on algorithms rely on smart contracts, which regulate supply using algorithms in response to market demand.
Stablecoins are primarily used to facilitate trades on cryptocurrency exchanges. Rather than purchasing Bitcoin with fiat currency such as the US dollar, traders frequently exchange fiat for a stable coin and then trade the stablecoin for another cryptocurrency such as bitcoin or ether.
Stablecoins can potentially be used as a form of payment. Businesses may accept payments at a minimal cost using stablecoins, and governments can implement conditional cash transfer programs more easily than before. Stablecoins can also be used to distribute monetary aid to beneficiaries all across the world due to their lightning-fast transactions.
Stablecoins can also be used to send money across international borders. In September, the Stellar blockchain introduced Sol Digital, a stable coin pegged to the sol, Peru’s national currency. It can be transferred between individuals in various countries without the need for third-party costs.
Fiat Money vs. Stablecoins
Numerous hypotheses have circulated since the inception of stablecoins, claiming that these digital currencies can eventually replace traditional paper money. Even though such a scenario is exceedingly unlikely and difficult to anticipate, there are several compelling reasons to keep stablecoins in mind. One of the key arguments is that, whereas stablecoins are backed by genuine assets, fiat currencies retain their value solely because people use them.
Furthermore, because of the lack of a middleman, most stablecoins are decentralized and based on peer-to-peer networking, resulting in reduced costs and faster transfers. Finally, China’s introduction of the digital yuan established a favorable environment for digital currencies around the world. As a result, several other governments have begun developing their digital currencies to replace existing paper currencies. Stablecoins can take advantage of these situations because their underlying technology meets all of the criteria for becoming the foundation of a country’s official digital currency.
While it is impossible to say whether stable coins will be the end of fiat money, it is safe to believe that these digital currencies will be around for a long time.
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