// definition
Stablecoin
Reference-value digital token
Short definition
A cryptoasset designed to maintain a stable value against a reference, often a currency. That target depends on its mechanism, any reserves and redemption rights. The stablecoin label alone guarantees neither a market price at par nor redemption available to every holder.
risk atlas
Knowledge map
Intuition
A stablecoin is a promise of parity. The risk sits in the reserve, the redemption right, the intermediaries and the geopolitical uses.
Formula
durable parity = liquid assets + redemption right + supervision + operational trustWhy it matters now
Stablecoins are becoming a parallel dollar plumbing: T-bill reserves, cross-border payments, sanctions, DeFi and US regulation all intersect.
Related analyses
- France’s stablecoin tax plan: gains and timingFrance’s proposed reform, tax basis and annual use of losses.
- USD1: who receives the reserve interest?Holder rights, BitGo revenue and the Trump family’s disclosed economic interests.
- Stablecoins: from tokens to available dollarsReserves, fees, redemption delays and rights by issuer channel.
- Iranian oil and USDTFreezing, seizure and the powers Tether retains.
- RealT in liquidationReal-estate RWA, off-chain title and on-chain promise.
- USDT on Tron and OFAC evasionStablecoins, sanctions and geopolitical payments.
- Hyperliquid and on-chain tradfiPerpetuals, DEXs and bridges to traditional assets.
- Strategy and the bitcoin betDigital treasury, mNAV and market-funded balance sheets.
Related guides
- Stablecoins and the GENIUS ActReserves, licensed issuers, audits and supervision.
- Who enforces the GENIUS ActOCC, FinCEN, OFAC, states and the enforcement architecture.
- Reading on-chain dataAddresses, reserves, flows and the limits of interpretation.
- MiCA, acronym by acronymARTs, EMTs, CASPs and European supervision.
Related datasets
- catalog.jsonMachine-readable catalogue of l0g surfaces.
- claims.jsonClassified claims with their evidence level.
- evidence-graph.jsonClaims, evidence and their sources as a graph.
- risk-diff.json1, 7 and 30-day diff of signals, sources and models.
Signals using it
- Risk DiffRecent change in risk and source freshness.
- Black Box RecorderHashed frames to replay a point-in-time state.
Primary sources
- Congress.gov & GovInfoLegislative texts, including the GENIUS Act and US crypto policy.
- U.S. Treasury Fiscal DataT-bills and short debt serving as stablecoin reserves.
- SEC EDGARDisclosures of listed issuers and crypto-exposed companies.
- Federal Reserve & FREDShort rates, dollar liquidity and risk-free assets.
- Fed: September 29, 2026 proposalReserves, monetisation capacity and redemption, sections 247.11–247.12.
- FATF: stablecoins and unhosted walletsRisks and proportionate controls, March 3, 2026 report.