A16z crypto: The word 'stablecoin' may already be past its expiry date.

A16z crypto argues that the term 'stablecoin' is increasingly a misnomer — stability was the original selling point when these assets existed to buffer crypto volatility, but it has since become table stakes rather than a differentiator.

The more meaningful shift, the firm says, is that these assets are becoming core financial infrastructure: instant cross-border transfers, real-time settlement, direct ownership, and embedded payments. The framing of 'stable' undersells what the technology actually does.

As adoption deepens, a16z expects the vocabulary to follow — with labels like 'digital dollars,' 'digital euros,' or simply 'onchain assets' eventually replacing a term that was always defined by what the product wasn't, rather than what it is.

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Wu Blockchain ✓ @WuBlockchain · 9d ago

a16z crypto: Why 'stablecoins' won't age well According to a16z crypto, the term 'stablecoin' may eventually become outdated. The article argues that stablecoins were first created to reduce the impact of crypto volatility, but stability has now become a baseline feature rather than the main selling point. Stablecoins are increasingly becoming financial infrastructure for instant cross-border transfers, real-time settlement, direct ownership, and embedded payments. The author says the bigger shift is that stablecoins allow money to “run like software,” and the term may eventually give way to labels such as “digital dollars,” “digital euros,” or onchain assets.

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