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Stablecoins

Digital money for everyday use

Stablecoins are Ethereum tokens designed to stay at a fixed value, even when the price of ETH changes.

The three biggest stablecoins by market cap: Dai, USDC, and Tether.

Why stablecoins?

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies without the volatility. They share a lot of the same powers as ETH but their value is steady, more like a traditional currency. So you have access to stable money that you can use on Ethereum. How stablecoins get their stability

Stablecoins are global, and can be sent over the internet. They're easy to receive or send once you have an .

Demand for stablecoins is high, so you can earn interest for lending yours. Make sure you're aware of the risks before lending.

Stablecoins are exchangeable for ETH and other Ethereum tokens. Lots of rely on stablecoins.

Stablecoins are secured by . No one can forge transactions on your behalf.

The infamous Bitcoin pizza

In 2010, someone bought 2 pizzas for 10,000 bitcoin. At the time these were worth ~$41 USD. In today’s market that’s millions of dollars. There are many similar regretful transactions in Ethereum’s history. Stablecoins solve this problem, so you can enjoy your pizza and hold on to your ETH.

Find a stablecoin

There are hundreds of stablecoins available. Here are some to help you get started. If you're new to Ethereum, we recommend doing some research first.

Editors' choices

These are probably the best-known examples of stablecoins right now and the coins we've found useful when using dapps.

Dai

Dai is probably the most famous decentralized stablecoin. Its value is roughly a dollar and it’s accepted widely across dapps.

Swap ETH for Dai(opens in a new tab)
Learn about Dai(opens in a new tab)
The Dai logo

USDC

USDC is probably the most famous fiat-backed stablecoin. Its value is roughly a dollar and it’s backed by Circle and Coinbase.

The USDC logo

Top stablecoins by market capitalisation

Algorithmic stablecoins are experimental technology. You should be aware of the risks before using them.

Market capitalisation is the total number of tokens that exist multiplied by the value per token. This list is dynamic and the projects listed here are not necessarily endorsed by the ethereum.org team.

CurrencyMarket capitalizationCollateral type
Tether
$119,527,752,495FiatGo to Tether(opens in a new tab)
USDC
$35,309,586,606FiatGo to USDC(opens in a new tab)

How to get stablecoins

Save with stablecoins

Stablecoins often have an above-average interest rate because there’s a lot of demand for borrowing them. There are dapps that let you earn interest on your stablecoins in real time by depositing them into a lending pool. Just like in the banking world, you're supplying tokens for borrowers but you can withdraw your tokens and your interest at any time.

Interest-earning dapps

Put your stablecoin savings to good use and earn some interest. Like everything in crypto, the predicted Annual Percentage Yields (APY) can change day-to-day dependent on real-time supply/demand.

0.05%

The average rate paid by banks on basic, federally insured savings accounts, USA. Source(opens in a new tab)
Aave logo

Aave(opens in a new tab)

Markets for lots of stablecoins, including Dai, USDC, TUSD, USDT, and more.

Compound logo

Compound(opens in a new tab)

Lend stablecoins and earn interest and $COMP, Compound's own token.

Summer.fi logo

Summer.fi(opens in a new tab)

An app designed for saving Dai.

How they work: types of stablecoin

Always do your own research

Algorithmic stablecoins are experimental technology. You should be aware of the risks before using them.

Fiat backed

Basically an IOU (I owe you) for a traditional fiat currency (usually dollars). You use your fiat currency to purchase a stablecoin that you can later cash-in and redeem for your original currency.

Pros

  • Safe against crypto volatility.
  • Changes in price are minimal.

Cons

  • Centralized – someone must issue the tokens.
  • Requires auditing to ensure company has sufficient reserves.

Example projects

  • USDC(opens in a new tab)
  • TrueUSD(opens in a new tab)

Crypto backed

Precious metals

Algorithmic

Learn more about stablecoins

Dashboard & Education

  • Stablecoins.wtf
    Stablecoins.wtf
    Stablecoins.wtf offers a dashboard with historical market data, statistics, and educational content for the most prominent stablecoins.
    Goto Stablecoins.wtf website(opens in a new tab)

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