Series · in English
Wersja polska →Stablecoins: Past, Present and Future
A course on stablecoins in twelve chapters: what one USDC really is, how a peg holds, how issuers earn, where stablecoins are used, the rules, the players and what comes next.
12 chapters · ~32 712 words · 34 figures · data as of 4–10 Sep 2026
A course in four levels. Foundations explain what a stablecoin is and what five crises taught the market. How it works opens the machine: peg designs, reserves, contracts, chains and regulation. The market today covers the numbers, the business model, real payments and the players. What's next gives the verdicts, the scenarios and a checklist you can use on any stablecoin. Written for newcomers and for people who already use crypto.
How to read. Read in order for the full course. In a hurry: chapter 1, chapter 7 (state of the market) and chapter 11 (what's next). Evaluating a stablecoin: chapter 12. Company profiles are linked from every chapter.
- Level 1 · Foundations
- 01
What one USDC actually is
A stablecoin is a token that tries to stay worth exactly one unit of a currency, almost always one US dollar.
→ - 02
A short history of stablecoins in five crises
Stablecoins did not arrive as a finished design that was later polished. They were shaped by a run of failures, and each one removed a weak design or exposed a weak assumption.
→ - Level 2 · How it works
- 03
How a peg holds: five designs
Every stablecoin promises to stay at one dollar, but they keep that promise in very different ways.
→ - 04
Under the hood: reserves, minting, redemption and freezes
A dollar stablecoin is two machines bolted together: a pile of safe assets held by a bank or custodian, and a small program on a blockchain that keeps a list of who owns how many tokens. This chapter opens both.
→ - 05
Which chains stablecoins live on, and who distributes them
A stablecoin is issued once but lives on many blockchains, and the chain it sits on changes what it is used for.
→ - 06
The rules: GENIUS Act, MiCA and the global map
Governments spent a decade watching stablecoins grow without a rulebook.
→ - Level 3 · The market today
- 07
Where stablecoins stand in September 2026
About 311 bn USD of dollar stablecoins existed on 4 September 2026, two tokens made up more than four fifths of that, and two blockchains held most of it.
→ - 08
How stablecoin issuers make money
A dollar stablecoin looks like a payments product, but its issuer earns money the way a bank earns on deposits it does not pay interest on.
→ - 09
Where stablecoins are actually used
Stablecoins moved tens of trillions of dollars on blockchains in 2025, yet only a few hundred billion of that paid for goods, services or wages. Most of the traffic is trading and exchange plumbing.
→ - 10
Who's who in stablecoins
A list of stablecoins sorted by size tells you whose balance sheet is biggest.
→ - Level 4 · What's next
- 11
What works, what doesn't, and 2027 to 2030
Stablecoins are a 311 bn USD market, but size alone does not show which parts of it have customers who would stay without a subsidy.
→ - 12
How to analyze any stablecoin in 30 minutes
A new dollar token lands on your desk and someone asks whether it is safe to integrate, list or hold. You do not need a week to form a first view.
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