Stablecoins are the topic du jour in fintech (or the topic du semestre, to be more precise).

I usually try not to follow the crowd when it comes to topic selection for the newsletter. However, as I wrote about a month ago, crypto enthusiasts are starting to use the reputation of stablecoins (safe! low cost!) to dress up some really bad ideas. Because of this and because of the undeniable momentum that stablecoins have gained over the last 12-18 months (thanks to a combination of institutional interest from companies like PayPal, Visa, and Stripe and the election of Donald Trump), I am making an exception.

In today’s essay, I will describe the very rough framework I have cobbled together for thinking about the real value that stablecoins can provide.