Introduction to Stablecoins

Report Overview

Author: Alyze Sam, Koosha Azim, Adam Alonzi
Release Date: January 21, 2021

Abstract:

This research project looks at stablecoins, a new category of digital assets with stable prices in decentralized financial systems. It achieves three goals. First, it examines different ways to stabilize the price of a cryptocurrency. Some are backed by assets with stable value such as US dollars or gold, others are stabilized by algorithms, and some combine those two approaches. Second, it surveys the landscape of stablecoins and analyze the top ten stablecoins by market capitalization. Finally, it suggests ways to use stablecoins for protecting the value of a cryptoasset portfolio.

Related Content

Decentralized Finance Analysis

In this project, our research leaders develop a method of formal analysis of the value of decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives. Inspired by Vitalik Buterin’s writings on the intrinsic worth of projects in the crypto economy—that they must solve legitimate human problems on a macro scale—our researchers mirror the approach of Benjamin Graham and David Dodd in Security Analysis. For several different applications within the DeFi space, they identify the business metrics as well as the financial and social key performance indicators (e.g., staking yield, fees generated) that will help investors distill signals from the noise—that is, the inherently valuable projects from what Graham and Dodd protégé Warren Buffett called “rat poison.” Although this research is by no means as detailed as Security Analysis, we think it will “shake readers from the memetic psychosis that has propagated crypto booms and busts over the past decade,” to quote the authors.

Read More

Non-Fungible Tokens – Part II: An Enterprise View of Programmable Digital Assets

In recent months, popularity of non-fungible tokens has soared again, at a new level of maturity in tools, infrastructure, and proven use cases. These advances have catalyzed the interest of enterprise leaders seeking to understand the value of NFTs in their businesses. This project focuses on what companies should know about this fledgling industry for unique digital assets. NFTs present opportunities to tokenize intellectual property, reputation, conversations, tangible assets, and new ways to engage customers, employees, and communities. From social media and online gaming to enterprise software and physical goods, organizations should find use cases worth pursuing.

Read More
Blockchain Research Institute™ Europe