Chapter 1
The magic trick of the steady dollar
Chapter 2
The global rescue line
Chapter 3
The giant digital vault
Chapter 4
The future of digital wallets
Ch 1 · The magic trick of the steady dollar
nic Dominating the market since 2014 and 2018, Tether and USD Coin let users hold digital dollars on blockchains without traditional bank accounts.
Quiz
Which of these was the very first major stablecoin, launched in 2014 under the name Realcoin before rebranding?
Quiz
What is the main purpose of a stablecoin compared to other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin?
nic Reserve vaults guarantee that users can redeem digital tokens for paper dollars anytime
Quiz
What kind of low-risk asset do major stablecoin issuers primarily hold in their reserve vaults to back their tokens?
Quiz
If a stablecoin issuer has 10 billion tokens in circulation, how much value must they hold in reserves to be fully backed?
Fun Fact
Trillion-dollar club: In 2024, stablecoins moved over $27 trillion—surpassing the combined payment volumes of credit card giants Visa and Mastercard over the same period.
Quiz
In 2024, the total transaction volume of stablecoins reached approximately how many trillions of dollars?
Quiz
Unlike traditional bank wire transfers, what is a key technical advantage of moving money via stablecoins?
Glossary
stablecoin (noun)
A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to another asset, such as a fiat currency. In 2014, Tether launched the first major version of these digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar.
A cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to another asset, such as a fiat currency. In 2014, Tether launched the first major version of these digital tokens pegged to the U.S. dollar.
nic When Dollar Pegs Slip
Below a dollar, below a dollar / We trade the gap to bring it back
Quiz
Which famous stablecoin collapsed to zero in 2022 because it relied on algorithms instead of actual cash reserves?
Quiz
What term is used when a stablecoin's value drops below its target price of one dollar?