[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"guide:what-backs-a-stablecoin::en":3,"guides-all::en":10},{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"topic":7,"updated_at":8,"body":9},"what-backs-a-stablecoin","What Actually Backs a Stablecoin","A stablecoin is only as stable as whatever stands behind it. The three designs, what an attestation does and does not prove, and the question that matters most.","crypto-basics","2026-08-17T16:27:44+00:00","\u003Cp>A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a steady value against a reference, usually a national currency. The peg is not a property of the token itself; it is a claim about something behind the token. Understanding what that something is tells you what has to go wrong for the peg to break.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>The three designs\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Fiat-backed stablecoins are issued against reserves held in cash and short-term instruments by a company, which promises to redeem tokens for the underlying currency. Crypto-collateralised stablecoins are minted against volatile crypto locked in smart contracts, deliberately overcollateralised so a price fall does not immediately leave the debt unbacked. Algorithmic designs try to hold the peg through supply and market incentives rather than assets — the model with the least to fall back on if confidence goes.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>What attestations prove\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Reserve reports are usually attestations rather than full audits: an accounting firm confirms what the issuer reported at a chosen moment. That is meaningful, and it is narrower than it sounds. It says little about the days in between, and the composition matters — cash and short-dated government paper behave differently in a rush for the exit than commercial paper or loans to affiliates.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Redemption is the real test\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>The question that matters is who can redeem, at what size, on what timetable, and in which jurisdictions. If direct redemption is limited to a handful of institutional partners, everyone else depends on those partners arbitraging the peg back — which works until they choose not to. A stablecoin that trades below its peg is telling you the market doubts either the reserves or the path to reaching them.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>Other risks that are not the reserves\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Most fiat-backed issuers can freeze balances at specific addresses, at their own initiative or on a legal order. Tokens also exist as bridged copies on other networks, where the risk becomes the bridge rather than the issuer. Neither is hidden, and both belong in the same picture as the backing.\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Ch2>The bottom line\u003C\u002Fh2>\u003Cp>Ask what the reserves are, who verifies them and how, who may redeem and on what terms — and treat a stablecoin as an obligation of somebody rather than as cash.\u003C\u002Fp>",[11,17,22,27,31,36,40,44,48,52,56,60,64,68,72,76,80,84,88,92,96,100,104,108,109,113,117,121,125],{"slug":12,"title":13,"excerpt":14,"topic":15,"updated_at":16},"an-etf-share-or-the-coin-itself","An ETF Share or the Coin Itself","Both track the same price and they are not the same asset. What each one actually makes you own, the three-way choice most people mistake for a two-way one, and which risk you are picking up.","market-literacy","2026-08-18T03:30:02+00:00",{"slug":18,"title":19,"excerpt":20,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"api-keys-and-third-party-trading-tools","API Keys and Third-Party Trading Tools","Bots, trackers and tax tools all ask for exchange API keys. What each permission actually grants, and the one you should almost never hand over.","exchange-safety",{"slug":23,"title":24,"excerpt":25,"topic":26,"updated_at":16},"bridging-crypto-between-chains","Bridging Crypto Between Chains Without Losing It","A bridge is a custody decision dressed up as a transfer. What the three designs actually do with your coin, why bridges are the most attacked component in crypto, and the checks that survive all of them.","wallet-security",{"slug":28,"title":29,"excerpt":30,"topic":26,"updated_at":8},"checking-a-crypto-address-before-you-send","How to Check a Crypto Address Before You Send","A crypto transfer cannot be recalled, and the most common way people lose money is sending to an address that was never the one they meant. Here is the check that catches it.",{"slug":32,"title":33,"excerpt":34,"topic":35,"updated_at":8},"crypto-tax-guide","The Crypto Records to Keep Before Tax Time","What you owe is set where you live, and this page does not touch it. What travels between jurisdictions is the record-keeping — and the fact that exchanges are not archives.","tax",{"slug":37,"title":38,"excerpt":39,"topic":26,"updated_at":8},"custodial-vs-non-custodial-wallets-explained","Custodial vs Non-Custodial Wallets Explained","The single biggest decision in how you hold crypto: who controls the keys, and what that means for security and responsibility.",{"slug":41,"title":42,"excerpt":43,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"exchange-safety-checklist","How to Evaluate a Crypto Exchange's Safety","Before you deposit a dollar, run any exchange through this checklist — proof-of-reserves, custody model, licensing, and security track record.",{"slug":45,"title":46,"excerpt":47,"topic":26,"updated_at":8},"hardware-wallets-explained","Hardware Wallets Explained","What a hardware wallet actually protects you from, what it does not, and how to buy and set one up without undoing the point of owning it.",{"slug":49,"title":50,"excerpt":51,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"how-crypto-withdrawals-work","How Crypto Withdrawals Work","Networks, addresses, confirmations and fees — what actually happens when you withdraw crypto, and the mistakes that make it unrecoverable.",{"slug":53,"title":54,"excerpt":55,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"how-to-buy-bitcoin","How to Buy Bitcoin for the First Time","The purchase takes ten minutes. What takes longer are the four decisions around it: where the coin will live, which venue may legally sell to you, and what the quote really costs.",{"slug":57,"title":58,"excerpt":59,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"how-to-check-a-token-before-you-buy","How to Check a Token Before You Buy","Six checks you can run yourself on any token, with a block explorer and the contract. None of them require trusting the project's own description.",{"slug":61,"title":62,"excerpt":63,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"how-to-check-an-exchange-licence-claim","How to Check an Exchange Licence Claim","A licence badge in a footer is a claim, not evidence. Four steps to verify it against the register, and what the answer does and does not cover.",{"slug":65,"title":66,"excerpt":67,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"how-to-read-a-crypto-whitepaper","How to Read a Crypto Whitepaper","A whitepaper has no standard, no reviewer and no obligation to stay true. What to read first, what to verify elsewhere, and which sections to skip.",{"slug":69,"title":70,"excerpt":71,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"how-to-spot-a-crypto-scam","How to Spot a Crypto Scam","The patterns behind almost every crypto scam are older than crypto. Learn the five that keep working, and the checks that defuse them.",{"slug":73,"title":74,"excerpt":75,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"how-to-trade-futures","How to Trade Crypto Futures, Starting With the Risk","A perpetual costs you money whether you are right or wrong, and the venue picks the moment your position closes. The numbers to know before the entry, not after it.",{"slug":77,"title":78,"excerpt":79,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"market-cap-and-supply-explained","Market Cap and Supply, Explained","Why a coin's unit price tells you nothing, what market cap actually measures, and the supply figures that quietly change the answer.",{"slug":81,"title":82,"excerpt":83,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"proof-of-reserves-explained","Proof of Reserves Explained","What a proof-of-reserves report actually proves, what it quietly leaves out, and how to read one without mistaking it for a full audit.",{"slug":85,"title":86,"excerpt":87,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"reading-a-block-explorer","How to Read a Block Explorer","A block explorer is the public record every claim about a transaction can be checked against. What the fields mean, and the three things worth verifying yourself.",{"slug":89,"title":90,"excerpt":91,"topic":26,"updated_at":8},"seed-phrase-security","How to Store a Seed Phrase Safely","Your recovery phrase is the account. Here is how to back it up so a fire, a flood, a thief or a phishing site cannot take your crypto with it.",{"slug":93,"title":94,"excerpt":95,"topic":26,"updated_at":8},"token-approvals-and-how-to-revoke-them","Token Approvals and How to Revoke Them","Most wallet drains are not stolen keys. They are permissions the owner granted once and forgot. Here is what an approval is and how to take it back.",{"slug":97,"title":98,"excerpt":99,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"two-factor-authentication-for-crypto-accounts","Two-Factor Authentication for Crypto Accounts","Not all second factors are equal. Why SMS codes are the weakest option, what a security key does that an app cannot, and what to fix first.",{"slug":101,"title":102,"excerpt":103,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"understanding-crypto-exchange-fees","Understanding Crypto Exchange Fees","Trading fees are the smallest part of what an exchange charges you. Here is where the rest of the cost hides, and how to measure it.",{"slug":105,"title":106,"excerpt":107,"topic":15,"updated_at":8},"what-a-smart-contract-audit-proves","What a Smart Contract Audit Does and Does Not Prove","An audit is a review with a scope and a date, not a guarantee. How to read one, and the four things a badge on a website never tells you.",{"slug":4,"title":5,"excerpt":6,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},{"slug":110,"title":111,"excerpt":112,"topic":21,"updated_at":8},"what-happens-when-a-crypto-exchange-fails","What Happens When a Crypto Exchange Fails","If an exchange freezes withdrawals or files for bankruptcy, what actually happens to your balance — and what you can do before that day.",{"slug":114,"title":115,"excerpt":116,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"what-staking-actually-involves","What Staking Actually Involves","Staking is not a savings account. What you commit, what can reduce it, and the difference between doing it yourself and letting a platform do it.",{"slug":118,"title":119,"excerpt":120,"topic":26,"updated_at":8},"what-to-do-if-your-wallet-is-drained","What to Do If Your Wallet Is Drained","The first hour matters, and instinct gives the wrong advice. What can still be saved, what cannot, and why recovery services make it worse.",{"slug":122,"title":123,"excerpt":124,"topic":21,"updated_at":16},"when-an-exchange-freezes-your-withdrawal","When an Exchange Freezes Your Withdrawal","Most frozen withdrawals are a compliance review, not a collapse. How to tell which one you are in, what shortens a hold, and the signals that mean stop waiting.",{"slug":126,"title":127,"excerpt":128,"topic":7,"updated_at":8},"why-a-transaction-is-stuck","Why a Transaction Is Stuck, and What to Do","A pending transaction has not failed and has not happened. Why fees, ordering and nonces leave transactions waiting, and which fixes are real."]