Uncover the potential of Rare Sats, Bitcoin's smallest units, with our comprehensive guide to classifications and exotic sats, including epic, legendary, and more!

The name of blockchain developer Casey Rodarmor was largely unknown in the 

 (BTC) community before 2023. That all changed in the space of several months when Rodarmor introduced two groundbreaking innovations. First, in January 2023, he debuted his Bitcoin 

 theory, which allowed the identification and tracking of individual satoshis, the smallest units in a BTC coin. The Ordinals protocol made it possible to inscribe pieces of custom data into satoshis, ushering in the era of Bitcoin NFTs. Then, in September 2023, Rodarmor introduced the concept of 

 — a technology that facilitates the efficient issuance and management of fungible cryptocurrencies on the Bitcoin blockchain. The Runes protocol was launched right after the 

By now, Rodarmor's ideas have attracted keen interest within the Bitcoin community. Hence, it's no wonder that another innovation of the ingenious developer — the rarity classification and index of satoshis on the Bitcoin network — has been the talk of the town in recent months.

 is the smallest unit of Bitcoin, with each BTC consisting of 100 million satoshis. The unit is named after Bitcoin's mysterious founder, 

. In the Bitcoin community's jargon, “satoshis” is often shortened to “sats.” In early 2023, developer Casey Rodarmor introduced his Ordinals theory and protocol, which allowed the precise identification and tracking of all individual sats mined on the Bitcoin network.

The Ordinals theory introduced a way of creating native Bitcoin NFTs by inscribing custom data into individual sats. However, ordinal inscriptions are just some of the groundbreaking innovations stemming from Ordinals theory. The fact that each satoshi mined on Bitcoin can now be identified allowed Rodarmor to create a peculiar classification system of satoshis that’s based on their rarity within the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Rodarmor's classification system divides all satoshis on the network into different categories, based on each satoshi's rarity. For instance, the first satoshi in each 

 block on Bitcoin is called "uncommon," while any sat that isn't the first or last in a block is considered "common," i.e., lacking any notable rarity features.

There are further rarity categories beyond common and uncommon, which we’ll cover in the next section. In Rodarmor's original classification, these categories are rare, epic, legendary and mythic. “Rare sats” refers to satoshis that belong to any of the above categories, except for the common category.

The emergence of the rare sats concept has led to active speculation and trade, with the most in-demand items on the market worth hundreds of thousands or potentially millions of dollars.

Rodarmor Rarity Index (Sats Rarity Checker)

Rodarmor's rarity index initially described six rarity categories — common, uncommon, rare, epic, legendary and mythic. Later on, Bitcoin enthusiasts and marketplaces derived more rarity categories, such as black sats and pizza sats. Rodarmor himself describes these additional, "custom" sat categories as “exotic sats,” or exotics.

“Common sats” refers to satoshis that aren't the first or last within a block. These represent the vast majority of satoshis mined so far, as well as those still to be mined. Well over 99.99% of all Bitcoin sats belong to the common category and, therefore, possess no rarity characteristics.

An uncommon sat is the first satoshi in a mined block. A new block of transactions is generated approximately every ten minutes on the Bitcoin network. Thus, one new uncommon sat emerges every ten minutes on the Bitcoin blockchain.

As of this time of writing (Apr 24, 2024), there are 

 in existence (i.e., within the BTC supply that’s already been mined). With a maximum supply of 6,929,999, this amount is still a tiny fraction of the existing supply of all satoshis, which is estimated at around 1.9 quadrillion. The potential value of an uncommon sat, as estimated by the 

 portal, is over $500 ($548 as of the time of writing).

In order to maintain the 10-minute interval between mined blocks, Bitcoin software adjusts its operational schedule after every 2,016th block. This happens approximately once every two weeks. The first sat in a block mined after this adjustment is classified by Rodarmor as “rare.” To clarify the terminology, the term "rare sats" is generally used to refer to all of the categories rarer than “common.” Still, within the rarity classification, there's also a specific category — “rare sats” — that includes the first satoshis of the blocks mined right after the fortnightly adjustment.

Rare sats are indeed exceedingly rare, with a maximum supply of 3,437 and only 416 currently in circulation. The estimated value of rare sats is close to half a million dollars ($460,485).

An “epic” sat is the first sat of a block mined right after the Bitcoin reward halving event, which happens approximately once every four years. As of the Apr 19, 2024 halving, Bitcoin has gone through four such events. Thus, only four epic sats are in circulation, though the supply is capped at 32. None are currently listed for sale, which makes any estimates of their potential price extremely hypothetical. Many industry observers believe that an epic sat might be worth millions of dollars.

It's estimated that the fortnightly interval adjustment and the reward halving coincide after exactly six halvings. The first satoshi of the first block mined right after this co-occurrence is classified as “legendary.” There’s an estimated total of five legendary sats.

It must be noted that the co-occurrence of these two events as described above is extremely rare, taking place only once every 24 years. It's forecast to first occur on the network in 2032. This is when the very first legendary sat will become available.

The mythic sat is the first satoshi of the first block ever mined on Bitcoin. It was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto himself (or should we say themselves, as the true identity of this creator is unknown) on Jan 3, 2009.

Exotic sats are custom categories of rare satoshis created outside of Rodarmor's original rarity index. These include a variety of rare sat types, such as: 

Two intriguing types of exotic sats are black sats and pizza sats, as detailed below.

The concept of “black sats” can be described as the reversal of the standard “rare sats” classification. A “black uncommon sat” is the last satoshi in a block, a “black rare sat” is the last satoshi of the previous block before the block time adjustment, and so on. While rare sats signify the beginning of pivotal events on the Bitcoin blockchain, black rare sats mark the conclusion of such events.

Pizza sats are satoshis from the legendary 

 for 10,000 BTC on May 22, 2010 — the first ever real-world Bitcoin transaction.

To find out if you possess any rare sats, you can usethe 

 provided by the Magic Eden NFT marketplace. This tool allows you to enter your Bitcoin wallet address, and then provides a detailed classification of your satoshis by rarity categories.

Currently, the best sources for finding rare sats are the Magic Eden and 

 marketplaces. The latter specializes precisely in rare sats, along with Ordinal 

Intermediate

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What Are Rare Sats? (The Ultimate Guide to Rare Satoshis)

The crypto trade life cycle involves five steps of processing that help to ensure crypto smoothly transfers from one owner to the other. Learn more here.

, learning all the details of how crypto trades work can be quite useful. A lot of things that happen behind the scenes, and knowing what to expect can help you make wiser investment choices. Keep reading to discover the details and steps of the crypto trade life cycle — and how they affect the average investor.

The crypto trade life cycle consists of the stages that it takes to enact any crypto trade. It involves five steps of processing that help to ensure crypto smoothly transfers from one owner to the other.

Many people think that cryptocurrency trading is as simple as clicking a button and watching the numbers in your account change. However, the reality is that multiple processing stages are needed to finalize any trade. Depending upon the type of service you use, you won't necessarily encounter every part of the crypto trade life cycle, because many exchanges help to manage the steps of the crypto trade life cycle for you. However, even if you aren’t aware of these steps, they still have a big impact on your trades.

 is all about the transition of crypto from one wallet to another. To achieve this goal, every transfer needs to go through five steps.

The first stage of the crypto trade life cycle is the pre-trade. In this stage, all the people involved in the trade take the time to carefully evaluate the idea of the trade and take steps to achieve their goals. For example, traders will consider potential trading strategies, research desirable cryptos and analyze 

. If the trader is selling something, they'll think about an acceptable selling price and possibly consider future plans for portfolio growth after the sale.

In addition to considering the theories behind the trade, the first step of the crypto trade life cycle also looks at the practicalities. This involves asking questions such as which exchange to use, how to acquire capital for trading and whether any regulatory laws need to be followed during the trade. For some trading entities, the pre-trade stage of the crypto trade life cycle can even involve designing new types of software, or writing 

Everything from technological to legal details is considered during the pre-trade stage.

Trade execution is the stage of the crypto trade life cycle which actually facilitates the trade. A person or investment organization places a buy or sell order for their crypto. Usually, modern investors get a crypto exchange to handle the second step of the crypto trade life cycle for them. The process might be as quick and simple as clicking on 

 on a site, and then entering your financial details.

However, when it comes to trading, crypto assets can be a lot more hands-on than traditional stocks and bonds. For some investors, trade execution might involve person-to-person trades. You might need to enter your 

 and manually type in the address of the party to whom you’re sending crypto. 

When working with a crypto market, this stage of the crypto trade life cycle can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. You can specify parameters, such as where you want to get the crypto from or precisely what price you want to pay for it.

Executing a transaction doesn’t mean it instantaneously completes itself. With digital or virtual currency, there can be a lag between placing the order and completing it. This is one of the stages of the crypto trade life cycle that the average retail investor won't see, but it involves a lot of work behind the scenes.

 is frequently rapid when working with crypto investments. It can consist of a millisecond pause as a blockchain network records a new block with the details of your transaction. However, if you're working with 

 where you have the right to buy a certain amount of crypto on a certain date, it can take some time for a trade to clear. The transaction needs to be recorded — both when it's agreed upon, and when the settlement date is reached — and any shift in market sentiment could affect whether or not you choose to finalize the contract.

Trade settlement refers to the stage of the crypto life cycle in which you actually finalize the trade. This stage is finalized only when all requested assets have been sent to the correct entity and all contracts are fulfilled. For example, if you buy through an exchange, your trade isn’t officially settled until the crypto is in your wallet and your payment is in the exchange's account.

Whether or not this stage is complicated depends upon the type of crypto trading you're conducting. If it’s just a simple exchange of one crypto for another, trade settlement might just involve simultaneously transferring cryptos and checking blockchain records to confirm the transfer was complete. However, if you're working with crypto funds or 

, it might require a more complex contract, perhaps one that involves confirming dates or checking to see if a product was delivered before you execute the final transfer.

Stage 5: Ongoing Position & Risk Management

The final part of the crypto trade life cycle is to take a step back and look at the big picture. You'll need to consider how the last trade fits into your plans for the future, and the market's overall movements. An investor may opt to check market sentiment, see whether it's a 

, and decide how long they plan on holding the crypto they’ve just purchased.

Some potential actions during Stage 5 of the crypto trade life cycle include deciding which wallet to store your crypto in, setting up a market alert to tell you when the crypto's price changes and checking to see whether ownership of the crypto qualifies you for any 

 programs. This step of the crypto trade life cycle gradually leads to the restart of the entire cycle. As you continue to manage your positions and focus on portfolio growth, you'll naturally end up considering future crypto transactions that lead you once again to the pre-trade stage.

Is the Crypto Trade Life Cycle Important for Crypto Trading?

Because you can make trades at the click of a button, the crypto trade life cycle might not seem that relevant to your current actions. However, it actually has a lot of impact on the way you trade. Being aware of the crypto trade life cycle comes with many benefits for investors.

Many traders make the mistake of trading on a whim. Because they miss out on the first and last steps of the crypto trade life cycle, they don't take the time to fully integrate their trades into their portfolios. By paying close attention to the first and last stages of the crypto trade life cycle, your trades become a lot more effective. You begin to see each trade as a small step in a bigger 

, so you can trade more analytically. Instead of being influenced by the hype of a bull market or the panic of a bear market, you choose cryptos that make sense for your long-term plans.

Understanding How Liquidity Affects the Market

Especially if you're trading smaller cryptos, all of the processing stages in the middle of the crypto trade life cycle can have a big impact. Without enough liquidity, trades lag and prices start to rapidly fluctuate. Understanding the work it takes to actually process crypto transactions can allow you to find the right trades for your needs. You can choose more appealing options, and select transactions that won't be hampered by potential market liquidity issues.

The laws surrounding crypto assets are constantly changing, and if you aren't aware of new regulations, it can cause major problems. So much of the crypto trade life cycle revolves around considering the legal and financial details of a trade. Therefore, it's useful to stay aware of new rules. This ensures that you won't end up running into problems mid-trade because your preferred crypto or software is no longer available in your region. It also helps you avoid getting 

, because you’ll increase your awareness of when a trade isn't actually valid.

To get the most out of your crypto trades, it's useful to find a service that provides the right amount of assistance. Some traders may want to deal with the steps of the crypto trade life cycle themselves, while others like to have the process automated. Whatever your preferences, knowing all of the necessary steps involved in your trade will help you find software that gets everything done correctly in a timely manner.

Ultimately, the crypto trade life cycle plays a big role in the crypto market. Each step of planning, executing and finalizing a transaction needs to run smoothly if you hope to have an effective trade. Whether you focus primarily on trading digital or virtual currency, the trade life cycle helps you focus on your portfolio and make plans for long-term success.

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Crypto Trade Life Cycle: Is It Important for Crypto Trading?

Planet Mojo allows users to compete in a variety of exciting games while collecting NFT digital assets and other rewards with real-world value. Learn more here.

 games. Planet Mojo hopes to attract blockchain enthusiasts with its new gaming ecosystem. This exciting network of games, 

, cryptocurrencies and more offers some unique investment opportunities. To see how Planet Mojo works and learn if it's right for you, explore this guide.

 is a blockchain gaming ecosystem. It allows users to compete in a variety of exciting games while collecting NFT digital assets and other rewards with real-world value. The Planet Mojo metaverse includes a variety of deep narrative and strategic gameplay options to entertain players.

, got his start working on games for LucasArts. He assisted with the creation of 

 and several other popular titles. During his time working with VR games, Levine was introduced to the world of blockchain gaming. He decided to take his expertise in the traditional gaming industry and apply it to blockchain games.

. Together with many other industry experts, they launched Planet Mojo and its Mystic Moose gaming studio in 2021. The project 

 from Animoca Brands, Courtside Ventures and other investors.

Planet Mojo's central mission is to create an 

 web3 world. As its team were planning their project's future direction, they noticed that many web3 gaming studios failed to fully connect their games. Consequently, although the products may be designed by the same creator, players can’t switch easily between games.

By prioritizing interoperability, Planet Mojo hopes to create a more seamless and enjoyable player experience. Players can easily switch between PvP games, a dynamic endless runner game and more while using the same assets for each game. Planet Mojo also hopes to use this strategy when designing its game concepts, implementing the same core storyline for all parts of the Planet Mojo metaverse so that players can access a deep narrative, no matter what game they're playing.

-based system. It uses a secure, reliable 

-compatible network to handle in-game assets. The gameplay is designed with traditional coding methods, so participants can play on their computer or phone. Planet Mojo's games use Unity technologies to design its graphics and Unreal Engine 5 to run its games.

The Planet Mojo gaming ecosystem includes many different 

. Players receive NFT characters that they can use to compete and engage in a variety of games. They receive Ore tokens as rewards for playing, which can be used to level up their characters. Meanwhile, Gem tokens are distributed at a slower rate than Ore. Gems can be used to unlock skins and buy other collectibles. The final token in the Planet Mojo metaverse is its utility token, MOJO, which is used to pay for in-game services and experiences.

The Planet Mojo ecosystem offers many opportunities for members of the Planet Mojo community to have fun and socialize with each other.

 includes all the best parts of PvP games. Players control an army and fight for control of a battleground. Through tactics, strategic gameplay and specialized characters, players can receive advantages that help them earn more rewards. The Mojo Melee calendar includes set seasons of competition along with big tournaments like Mojo Bowl II.

The Mojo Marketplace is where players can buy and sell in-game assets. It accepts both MOJO and MATIC tokens during transactions. You can choose between standard Mojo creatures and champion versions that offer special perks.

Planet Mojo has a robust esports community. Players compete for a spot on the leaderboard and for exciting prizes. In addition to NFTs and tokens, winners of major tournaments like Mojo Bowl II also receive cash prizes. The next big tournament set to take place in the Planet Mojo gaming ecosystem is the Fall Faceoff in September 2024.

Planet Mojo NFTs are uniquely generated ERC-721 tokens that fall into four separate classes, based on rarity. Some of the NFTs can be leveled up to provide them with extra powers for games. There are also NFT mods that function as a type of exclusive skin. Players can add these to their NFTs to change their appearances without affecting their performance.

Mojo Maker is an interactive avatar system that connects to the Planet Mojo games. Players can use this beta feature to change the look of their avatars and their creatures. It encourages people to obtain more digital collectibles, and provides players with more customization options.

Since its launch, Planet Mojo has designed the Mojo Metaverse and successfully released the Mojo Melee game. They plan to update Mojo Melee soon with more crafting options and mobile capabilities, and with additional community events in the Mojo Melee calendar. Alongside the Mojo Melee updates, Planet Mojo is developing additional games, aiming to release a dynamic endless runner game called 

. The long-term goals of the Planet Mojo team include greater decentralization, increased player-led governance and more sustainable technology.

MOJO is an ERC-20 coin. It allows players to access game features and pay for services. There are a total of 

 available. Tokens will be gradually released over a 60-month period. The network plans on distributing them as follows:

Since its release in early April, MOJO's price has mostly fluctuated between $0.10 and $0.29. The token is selling for around $0.175 as of Apr 22, 2024. DigitalCoinPrice’s analysis suggests MOJO's prices will continue to rise to 

 in 2024 and $1.32 by 2030. In addition to its positive momentum, MOJO may be able to capitalize on general market trends. Forbes 

 for April 2024, which could carry MOJO to impressive gains in the upcoming months.

Looking to trade Planet Mojo tokens? Bybit now offers the MOJO/USDT Spot trading pair. To get started, you’ll first need to create a Bybit account, then fund it with cryptocurrency and navigate to the 

To celebrate this listing, Bybit is holding 

 where you can earn a share of a 100,000 USDC prize pool.

. The first 2,000 new users who complete the following two steps between through Apr 23, 2024, 8:59AM UTC will receive 20 USDC each:

If you’re already a Bybit user (prior to Apr 8, 2024, 8AM UTC), no worries — because you can still earn 10 USDC! Simply accumulate a deposit volume of at least 1,000 MOJO during the event period, or deposit 200 USDT and trade at least 200 USDT worth of MOJO using your Bybit account. Please note that rewards will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis to the first 2,000 users.

, is being held through Apr 23, 2024, 8:59AM UTC. Simply trade at least 1,000 USDT worth of MOJO on Spot during the event period to grab a share of the 40,000 USDC prize pool.

The more you trade, the larger your share of the prize pool. Rewards will be capped at 2,000 USDC per user.

The Planet Mojo project was launched by a team of reputable gaming industry experts, so it's managed to attract quite a few investors. Furthermore, the project is part of the wildly popular web3 gaming market that's performed quite well lately. These factors make MOJO an interesting option for investors who want to find promising startups and get in on the ground floor.

However, keep in mind that competition is fierce for gaming cryptos. Planet Mojo hasn't managed to attract a large number of gamers yet, and its social media communities are quite small. If MOJO fails to attract more people, it might exhibit a lackluster performance. Make sure to 

 before buying this token, and don't invest more money than you can afford to lose.

The Planet Mojo ecosystem and Mystic Moose gaming studio are a solid addition to the world of web3 gaming. They offer fun games in a uniquely interoperable environment, and they have a team filled with dedicated and talented members. Though the project's future direction is still uncertain, if it can get more players invested in the Planet Mojo community, Planet Mojo could do quite well.

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Planet Mojo (MOJO): Blending Mythical Esports in a Web3 Arena

Unlock the world of real estate trading with Parcl (PRCL), a Solana-based platform offering index-based trading and institutional-quality data access.

Real estate markets, while an essential component of the overall financial ecosystem, aren't particularly known for high levels of liquidity. High barriers to entry for smaller investors, inflexible markets and incomplete location-based data on price movements have all made real estate investment a less popular choice than trading stocks, commodities or cryptocurrencies. While

 may offer an innovative alternative to physical real estate investment, nothing compares to the tangible value and stability of physical real estate.

Parcl (PRCL) is a Solana-based decentralized real estate trading platform that aims to change the status quo by introducing index-based liquid trading opportunities. By taking long and short positions on city-specific real estate indices maintained by Parcl, users can access a highly liquid form of trading and start with a minimum investment of as little as $1.

 (PARCL), a decentralized platform that offers location-based real estate indices for perpetuals trading.

 (AMM) and offers both perpetuals trading and opportunities to provide liquidity.

Parcl obtains and updates physical real estate market data from many sources and repositories in order to derive indices for each tracked locality. The indices are based on highly detailed data, and boast granularity to the level of accounting for prices per square foot or meter. As of mid-April 2024, Parcl maintains indices for 26 localities, including several large U.S. cities, Paris, London and Solana Beach, a small Californian community that inspired the name of the 

 (SOL) blockchain. Incidentally, Parcl is based on that very chain.

The project's team specifically noted Solana's extremely high throughput capacity of 50,000 

 (TPS) and meager transaction fees of less than a cent as the key reasons for choosing blockchain.

Parcl launched its operations in early 2022. In January 2023, the platform upgraded to v2, and in late 2023 it underwent another major upgrade to v3. The third (and current) version has seen several key improvements, including enhanced 

 for traders, better capital efficiency and a single, scalable liquidity pool.

In December 2023, the Parcl protocol announced two initiatives to reward its user base and attract new members — Points Program and Referral Program. The former awards loyalty points to active users of v2 and v3, while the latter incentivizes members to refer new traders to the Parcl platform.

Having operated without its own native cryptocurrency for its first couple of years, Parcl launched its PRCL 

 on Apr 16, 2024. The token generation event (TGE) was also accompanied by the start of an 

 campaign, which allocates 8% of the token's supply to eligible users. The abovementioned Points Program plays a crucial role in the airdrop, with the program's loyalty points among the major determinants of airdrop eligibility.

Real estate investors who use Parcl can open long and short positions on city-specific indices designed to accurately track real-world property values in the respective localities. Unlike traditional real estate investing, in which the majority of trade is based on per-property prices, each Parcl index is based on the overall market for the particular city, allowing traders to speculate on city-wide price movements. In order to trade, users need to deposit 

In addition to locality-specific real estate trading, Parcl offers investment opportunities to 

 (LPs). Those LPs who contribute to the AMM's liquidity pool are rewarded with a share of revenues from on-platform trading activity. The pool distributes 70% of the trading fees to LPs, based on the amounts they contribute.

Implemented by Parcl Labs, the company behind the protocol, the Parcl Labs Price Feed (PLPF) is a major component of the platform. PLPF is designed to source real estate transaction data from a multitude of sources. The data is then used to update city indices daily at each city and locality level. This allows Parcl to run some of the most sensitive and granular indices measuring real estate values.

Parcl Labs goes to great lengths to ensure the accuracy, reliability and transparency of the data it collects. PLPF data quality assurance is a multi-step process that involves:

As of April 2024, Parcl tracks 26 regional indices, although not all of these may be available to traders at all times, depending upon on-platform activity. The indices include all the largest U.S. cities, such as New York, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco; San Diego County's Solana Beach; two major European capitals, Paris and London; and the country-wide U.S. real estate market index.

PRCL is the platform's newly introduced governance token. It was launched on Apr 16, 2024, envisioned to let its holders actively participate in on-platform governance processes. It also grants token holders access to institutional-quality real estate data through an API powered by Parcl Labs. In the future, the token will provide additional benefits related to on-platform trading via the 

The PRCL token has a total supply of 1 billion. Its 

 details don't explicitly specify any supply cap. The token's supply allocation shares are as follows:

Part of the allocation for Community Growth & Incentives (8% of the total supply) will be distributed via airdrops to Parcl’s early adopters and community partners.

You can buy PRCL on Bybit through a Spot pair with USDT (

). Additionally, until the end of April 2024, you can take advantage of Bybit's 

 to earn a share of the 50,000 USDT pool prize. Bybit's Spot and Derivatives markets provide you with opportunities to trade hundreds of cryptocurrencies and crypto-based products. If you don’t have a Bybit account, you can easily 

 to access our range of products and assets.

Traditional methods of investing in real estate have generally been restrictive and inflexible for many traders, particularly those with limited capital. The Parcl platform is now leading the way in changing this market niche. Thanks to the protocol's unique business concept, real estate investment is now open to a broader segment of investors.

However, more than the benefits of flexibility and better liquidity distinguish Parcl. The protocol's rigorous data collection mechanism ensures that users can now access high-quality, granular data that few other analytics platforms can provide. As such, Parcl might be described as a multi-purpose environment that serves the needs of not only traders and LPs, but also real estate analysts and market pundits. In short, anyone interested in real estate markets will find something useful for themselves on Parcl — the world's first decentralized index-based real estate trading protocol.

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Parcl (PRCL): Revolutionizing Real Estate Trading With Perpetual Contracts

Bybit Learn

Altcoins

Crypto

Stablecoin

Take a look at stablecoins. How are they different from other cryptocurrencies? And are they a good investment?

Stablecoins are becoming increasingly popular, with their market cap reaching

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that have their price pegged to or backed by a stable asset, or group of assets. Most are pegged to fiat i.e. real currency. However, some may be pegged to the price of commodities such as gold, or even other cryptocurrencies. Some are not pegged to any asset. 

Many see stablecoins as having the best of both worlds – they possess the blockchain technology that most cryptocurrencies possess, but are without the volatility that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies can suffer from. They are stable coins in the literal sense of the word. 

How do stablecoins work so they are actually kept stable?

How is Price Stability and Low Volatility Achieved?

Price stability and low volatility are often cited as major advantages of stablecoins. It should be noted however that stablecoins are only as stable as the asset they are pegged to. 

Although by their nature, stablecoins are pegged to assets that are expected to be stable themselves, that’s not to say they are not immune to volatility. 

Price swings could still happen, thus affecting the volatility of the stablecoin. Thankfully, this is rare. Stablecoins are generally very stable because of the high stability of the asset they are pegged to. 

But how are stablecoins kept stable, or in other words, how do they keep their peg maintained? 

This comes down to the issue of trust. For the peg to be maintained, the market needs to have trust in the asset the coin is pegged to. That’s why coins are pegged to trusted assets such as US dollars, gold and oil. 

 (USDT), for example, is pegged to the US dollar, meaning that for every unit of USDT, parent company Tether keeps a US dollar in reserves. If the market didn’t hold trust in that one unit of USDT was worth one dollar, then it would crash. However, the fact that USDT for the most part has been always very close to one dollar in value, is a testament to the trust the market has in it.

Price stability and low volatility can bring convenience, but in what ways are stablecoins used? 

Stablecoins are being increasingly used for transactions, with the blockchain technology enabling international transactions to be done significantly more quickly than more traditional means. Additionally, some individuals and merchants may be perhaps understandably resistant to transact in a cryptocurrency which may fluctuate in price massively in a short period of time, such as Bitcoin. With stablecoins, this risk is significantly lower.

 in recent years has become well-established in the financial sector, and offers a public blockchain-based alternative to traditional financial services through the use of smart contracts. Stablecoins play their part as they offer a stable means of transactions taking place in the DeFi system.

Four different types of stablecoins exist. Three types are backed by collateral, and one type is not. In addition to this, two types are centralized (held by a central entity), and two types are decentralized (not held by a central entity).

Most stablecoins are pegged to fiat currencies, such as USD, EUR or GBP. This is done at, or very near to, a 1:1 ratio. This essentially means that for every stablecoin, there is a unit of fiat currency stored somewhere in reserves too.

So let’s imagine that somebody wants to convert their stablecoins into cash. The institution storing the stablecoins will send the fiat currency being stored in reserves to the individual’s bank account, and the amount of stablecoins equating to the amount of fiat circulation will be removed from circulation.

Most stablecoins in this category are collateralized to gold, but they can be collateralized to other commodities too, including metals, oil, or real estate. These commodities act as mechanisms to limit price volatility. Commodity-backed stablecoins can give everyday investors the opportunity to invest in commodities. Although investments in assets such as gold have traditionally been for the rich, these types of stablecoins have opened them up to potentially a whole new demographic of people.

Some stablecoins are pegged to cryptocurrencies. In contrast to fiat-backed stablecoins, cryptocurrency-backed stablecoins are issued through smart contracts. As cryptocurrency prices can be notoriously volatile, coins are often backed by multiple cryptocurrencies. So if one suffers price volatility, the others can absorb the shock while remaining stable. 

Additionally, some are protected by a process called over-collateralization. It means when the coin is backed by an asset more than the value of the coin, and is used as a protective measure. So, instead of a ratio 1:1 like fiat, the ratio may be 1:2 instead, meaning that the stablecoin is backed up by cryptocurrency collateral double its value.

Pros of Cryptocurrency Backed Stablecoins:

Cons of Cryptocurrency Backed Stablecoins:

Believe it or not, noncollateralized stablecoins do exist: this type of stablecoin is known as the 

. The supply of these stablecoins is controlled by algorithmic pegging and smart contracts. Supply and demand drive the prices of these stablecoins. The supply of these stablecoins is controlled by an algorithm-based model known as seigniorage shares.

If the price of the stablecoin increases, then coins will be issued by the algorithm until the supply and demand achieve equilibrium. If the price of the stablecoin decreases, then the supply of the coins will be reduced until supply and demand also achieves equilibrium. By doing these things, the algorithm can keep the price of the coin stable.

Paxos Standard (PAX) is a fiat-backed stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, launched in 2018. Today,

 include to limit crypto-asset volatility and to remove cross-border transaction fees, but it is hoped by its issuer Paxos Trust Company to be used for consumer payments in the future. 

(DGX) is pegged to gold, with one unit of the currency equal to one gram of gold. The gold is stored in a vault, and holders of the currency may redeem gold bars if they visit the vault themselves. The gold is audited every three months to ensure the full amount is still being held.

There are contrasting options on whether stablecoins are a good investment or not. Let’s look at some of the arguments for and against.

What are Stablecoins? Are They a Good Investment?

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Grab Up to 5,000 USDT in Rewards