Apr 22, 2022
On this episode, Andrew and Alex discuss the
stunning growth of UST, a so-called algorithmic stablecoin.
Stablecoins are cryptoassets pegged to the US dollar. Historically,
stablecoins have been centralized, that is issued by a corporation
and backed by deposits in a bank. However, the fastest area of
growth today is in decentralized stablecoins or "algorithmic
stablecoins," which are collateralized by cryptoassets held in
smart contracts. UST leads this pack.
The stakes of this race are significant: UST's
ascent has caused the layer 1 protocol on which it runs- Terra- to
100x in value in a year. Other layer 1s are now playing g catch-up
with NEAR and Tron announcing their own copycat stablecoins. Other
protocols like Avanche are content to let their coins be used as
collateral for UST, rather than create their own. Cosmos ATOMs are
being used as collateral for UST, but that's more complicated.
Andrew and Alex dig into all of this and more. Buckle up!