Crypto
Stablecoins: coins that stay at $1
Most coins jump around. Stablecoins are built to stay at $1. Here is how, and why traders use them.
Updated Oct 31, 2026
Basahin sa FilipinoWhat is a stablecoin?
A coin made to always be worth about $1. The best known are USDT (Tether) and USDC.
| You hold | Worth |
|---|---|
| 1 USDT | about $1 |
| 500 USDC | about $500 |
How does it stay at $1?
The company that makes it keeps about $1 in reserve for every coin, in cash and similar safe savings. So each coin can be swapped back for a dollar.
1,000,000 USDC exist → the company holds about $1,000,000 in reserve
What do people use them for?
- Parking money between trades without leaving crypto.
- Moving money between exchanges quickly.
- Pricing other coins: many exchanges price Bitcoin in USDT (BTC/USDT).
| You sell $500 of Bitcoin into USDT | Bitcoin then falls 10% |
|---|---|
| Kept as Bitcoin | now $450 |
| Kept as USDT | still $500 |
Can a stablecoin lose its $1?
Yes. If people doubt the reserves, they rush to sell and the price can slip below $1. This is called a de-peg.
| A stablecoin slips to | Your 1,000 coins are worth |
|---|---|
| $0.99 | $990 |
| $0.95 | $950 |
| $0.88 | $880 |
- In March 2023, USDC briefly fell to about 88 cents when a bank holding part of its reserves failed. It came back to $1 within days.
- In May 2022, TerraUSD, a stablecoin with no real reserves, collapsed to almost nothing.
"Stable" means designed to stay at $1, not guaranteed to.
How does Tradeground use stablecoins?
Your Tradeground wallet is in US dollars. Coin prices come from Binance in USDT, and Tradeground counts 1 USDT as $1.