Stablecoins are a pop in ofcryptocurrencylinked to an asset like the U.S. dollar that doesnt change much in value.
Thefirst stablecoin, created in 2014, was Tether, which many other stablecoins are modeled after.
Users receive one token for every dollar they deposit.
The next-largest is known as USD Coin, which has a market cap of about $27 billion.
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Money transfers take seconds to complete.
This makes stablecoins programmable in ways that dollars cant be.
Collectively, these software-based financial services are known as decentralized finance, or DeFi.
Proponents hold that moving money via stablecoins isfaster, cheaper and easierto integrate into software compared with fiat currency.
Others say the lack of regulation creates big risks for the financial systems.
Worried that stablecoins could pose risks to the financial system,regulators have also taken greater interestin them recently.
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