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Stablecoins: The Shadow Dollar System
Post-2022, the correlation between crypto trading volumes and stablecoin settlements has diminished, revealing a shift in usage patterns. Many individuals now leverage stablecoins for peer-to-peer transactions, such as business and individual payments, effectively integrating crypto into real-world activities. Additionally, stablecoins serve as a means to access dollars, particularly for users in regions with unstable banking systems, like Argentina and Venezuela, highlighting their function as an alternative currency system. Approximately 95% of stablecoin holders at Paxos were non-US residents, primarily buying and holding stablecoins. The backing of stablecoins varies significantly, with Tether's reserves being somewhat opaque; although recent insights suggest their reserves are tied to safe assets like US treasuries, full transparency is lacking, emphasizing the need for regulatory frameworks in the stablecoin space.