In the volatile world of digital assets, prices can go up, or they can go down, often dramatically.

在不穩定的數字資產世界中，價格可以上升，也可以下降，往往是急劇下降。

Stablecoins aim to achieve the opposite effect, maintaining a constant value to offer investors

穩定幣的目的是達到相反的效果，保持恆定的價值，為投資者提供

a haven from the intense price fluctuations of bitcoin and other tokens.

這是一個避開比特幣和其他代幣激烈價格波動的避難所。

Or at least, that's how it should work.

或者至少，它應該是這樣的。

The collapse of one so-called stablecoin, known as terraUSD, has shaken investors' faith in crypto.

一個被稱為terraUSD的所謂穩定幣的崩潰，動搖了投資者對加密貨幣的信心。

It's also set off alarm bells for global regulators, who worry the phenomenon

這也給全球監管機構敲響了警鐘，他們擔心這一現象

may hold much broader risks to the financial system.

對金融系統來說，可能存在更廣泛的風險。

So, what are stablecoins exactly, and why are they so controversial?

那麼，到底什麼是穩定幣，為什麼它們如此具有爭議性？

In essence, stablecoins are cryptocurrencies whose value are pegged to an existing asset

從本質上講，穩定幣是價值與現有資產掛鉤的加密貨幣。

— most often the U.S. dollar, though there are others tied to the euro and gold, too.

- 最常見的是美元，儘管也有與歐元和黃金掛鉤的其他貨幣。

They're sort of like casino chips for the crypto world.

它們有點像加密貨幣世界的賭場籌碼。

Traders buy tokens like Tether or USD Coin (USDC) with real dollars.

交易者用真實的美元購買Tether或美元幣（USDC）等代幣。

Those tokens can then be used to trade bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.

然後這些代幣可以用來交易比特幣和其他加密貨幣。

And whenever someone wants to cash in, they can get the equivalent amount of dollars for

而每當有人想兌現時，他們就可以得到等額的美元，以換取

however many stablecoins they want to redeem.

無論他們想贖回多少穩定幣。

Glen Goodman is a former financial journalist turned crypto investor.

格倫-古德曼(Glen Goodman)是一名前金融記者，後來轉為加密貨幣投資者。

He ran me through the importance of stablecoins to the crypto market.

他向我介紹了穩定幣對加密貨幣市場的重要性。

For any financial market to be efficient, it needs to be liquid, there needs to be a

任何金融市場要想有效，就需要有流動性，就需要有

lot of trading going on, it needs to be functioning smoothly.

大量的交易正在進行，它需要順利地運作。

The problem is that transferring from fiat currencies like dollars into cryptos is actually a hassle.

問題是，從美元等法定貨幣轉入加密貨幣實際上是一件很麻煩的事情。

It costs money. It takes time.

它要花錢。它需要時間。

Stablecoins solve that problem by allowing you to transfer an amount of fiat currency

穩定幣通過允許你轉移一定數量的法幣來解決這個問題。

into an equivalent number of tokens.

變成同等數量的代幣。

And then those tokens can quickly and cheaply be traded in and out on the exchanges. It makes a world of difference.

然後這些代幣可以快速而廉價地在交易所進行進出交易。這就有了天壤之別。

But, as it turns out, some stablecoins aren't quite as stable as they're made out to be.

但是，事實證明，一些穩定幣並不像它們被認為的那樣穩定。

Let's just look at what's happened to this stablecoin price, the terraUSD price,

讓我們來看看這個穩定幣的價格發生了什麼，terraUSD的價格。

look at that absolutely extraordinary, dropped to just 12 cents here, way off its $1 peg.

看看這絕對是不尋常的，在這裡下降到只有12美分，與1美元的掛鉤相去甚遠。

We saw UST, one of the most popular US dollar-pegged stablecoin projects, totally collapse.

我們看到最受歡迎的與美元掛鉤的穩定幣項目之一UST完全崩潰了。

Consumers have gotten hurt real bad this time, and that's a problem for the whole industry.

消費者這次受到了真正的傷害，這對整個行業來說是個問題。

It was very much marketed as a stablecoin.

它在很大程度上被推銷為穩定幣。

But terraUSD, otherwise known as UST, didn't hold up to its promise.

但terraUSD，也就是所謂的UST，並沒有兌現它的承諾。

Instead of fiat currency reserves, UST relied on a complex set of rules.

UST依靠的不是法定貨幣儲備，而是一套複雜的規則。

If the price of UST sank below a dollar, an algorithm would kick in, creating new units

如果UST的價格降到一美元以下，一個算法將啟動，創造新的組織、部門

of a sister coin called luna while taking an equivalent amount of UST out of circulation.

一個名為Luna的姐妹幣，同時讓同等數量的UST退出流通。

The idea was that this would throttle the supply of the stablecoin and push its price

這個想法是，這將扼殺穩定幣的供應，並推動其價格上漲。

back up to $1.

回升到1美元。

Stablecoins are in two different types.

穩定幣有兩種不同的類型。

The most easy to understand of those are the ones that are simply backed by, say, dollars.

其中最容易理解的是那些簡單的支持，例如，美元的支持。

So you have an equivalent amount of dollars in a bank account somewhere, or things that

是以，你在某處的銀行賬戶上有同等數額的美元，或者是一些東西。

are almost the same as dollars like Treasury bills.

與國庫券等美元幾乎相同。

The other type are the algorithmic stablecoins.

另一種類型是算法穩定幣。

What they tried to do, was get around the problem of needing tons of collateral, loads of dollars in a bank.

他們試圖做的，是繞過需要大量抵押品的問題，在銀行的大量美元。

As pressure is put downwards on UST through the mechanisms that work to try and stabilize it,

由於壓力是通過努力穩定UST的機制而向下施加的。

actually the price of Luna is kind of forced slowly downwards.

實際上，Luna的價格是一種被迫緩慢下降的情況。

And whilst most of the time that system actually kind of works okay and it stabilizes the currency,

而在大多數情況下，這個系統實際上是可行的，它穩定了貨幣。

in an extreme situation like this one, what happens is it becomes a vicious circle where

在這種極端的情況下，會發生的情況是，它變成了一個惡性循環，即

UST has got pressure on its peg, it's becoming worth less than $1, the price of Luna falls

UST在其掛鉤上有壓力，它的價值變得低於1美元，Luna的價格下跌

further and in the efforts to try and shore up UST, the price of Luna falls even further,

進一步，在試圖支撐UST的努力中，Luna的價格進一步下跌。

which scares the hell out of people and makes them start selling like crazy.

這把人們嚇壞了，並使他們開始瘋狂地銷售。

After UST "broke the buck," Tether also temporarily fell below a dollar on numerous exchanges.

在UST "破發 "後，Tether也在眾多交易所暫時跌破一美元。

Tether, the world's biggest stablecoin by market value, has long faced doubts over whether

Tether是世界上市值最大的穩定幣，長期以來一直面臨著對以下問題的質疑：1.

it holds enough assets to support its purported peg to the dollar.

它持有足夠的資產來支持其所謂的與美元掛鉤。

Tether processed more than $10 billion in withdrawals in May as investors got cold feet about the token.

隨著投資者對代幣的冷淡，Tether在5月份處理了超過100億美元的提款。

The source of Tether's reserves has been under scrutiny after a series of disclosures showed

在一系列的披露資訊顯示，Tether的儲備來源一直受到審查

it wasn't always backed 1-to-1 by cash as initially claimed.

它並不像最初聲稱的那樣總是有1比1的現金支持。

The big fear with Tether is, what happens if everyone were to start trying to redeem their tokens at once?

對Tether的最大擔心是，如果每個人都開始試圖同時贖回他們的代幣會發生什麼？

Such a scenario would likely mean Tether having to sell off assets it holds, including

這種情況很可能意味著Tether不得不出售其持有的資產，包括

commercial paper, a form of unsecured, short-term debt issued by companies.

商業票據，由公司發行的一種無擔保的短期債務。

Tether is still a worry, because if there was a massive run on Tether I'm fairly certain

Tether仍然是一個令人擔憂的問題，因為如果Tether出現大規模運行，我相當確定

there wouldn't be enough dollars readily to hand as Tether have admitted some

由於Tether公司已經承認了一些問題，所以手頭不會有足夠的美元。

of their assets are commercial paper, which varies in value over time, and may or may

他們的資產是商業票據，其價值隨時間變化，可能是也可能是

not be easy to sell on a short-term basis.

不容易在短期內出售。

For its part, Tether says it is increasing its holdings of US Treasury bills - which

Tether方面表示，它正在增加其持有的美國國債--這

are viewed as safe and easily convertible to cash - while at the same time reducing

被認為是安全的，並且容易兌換成現金--同時也減少了

the amount of commercial paper it's sitting on.

它所持有的商業票據的數量。

Some of Tether's critics also worry it has been used to manipulate crypto prices, a claim the company denies.

Tether的一些批評者還擔心它被用來操縱加密貨幣價格，該公司否認了這一說法。

I asked Paolo Ardoino, Tether's chief technology officer, to address some of the concerns surrounding the stablecoin.

我請Tether的首席技術官Paolo Ardoino談談圍繞穩定幣的一些擔憂。

Tether did not drop below $1 with its peg.

Tether並沒有因為其掛鉤而跌破1美元。

So, the price of Tether on two or three exchanges went below the dollar because of lack of liquidity.

是以，由於缺乏流動性，兩三個交易所的Tether價格低於美元。

For the entire time, Tether always honors its redemptions for $1.

在整個過程中，Tether總是以1美元的價格兌現其贖回。

Tether, in 48 hours, redeemed $7 billion-plus, that is around 10% of their assets,

Tether，在48小時內，贖回了70多億美元，這大約是他們資產的10%。

without the blink of an eye.

沒有眨眼的時間。

There is no stablecoin, but also there is no bank institution, that has a track record

沒有穩定幣，但也沒有銀行機構，有跟蹤記錄的。

today successfully redeeming 10% of its assets in 48 hours.

今天在48小時內成功贖回了10%的資產。

The UST debacle has put regulators on edge.

UST的失敗讓監管機構感到緊張。

Governments in the U.S., U.K. and EU want new rules aimed at taming stablecoins, a market

美國、英國和歐盟的政府希望制定旨在馴服穩定幣的新規則，這是一個市場。

that was worth over $150 billion in the middle of 2022. Larisa Yarovoya, associate professor of finance

在2022年中期，價值超過1500億美元。拉里薩-亞羅沃亞，金融學副教授

at the University of Southampton's business school, said there's an urgent need for stablecoin regulation.

南安普頓大學的商學院的教授說，現在迫切需要對穩定幣進行監管。

It is very, very hard to police, it's very hard to control.

它非常、非常難以監管，非常難以控制。

We don't have yet any regulation in this area.

我們在這個領域還沒有任何法規。

If you have a look on the stablecoins, they can appear, be there for four or five months, and after, disappear.

如果你看一下穩定幣，它們可以出現，在那裡四五個月，之後就消失了。

So, the lifespan of certain stablecoins, it's actually very short.

所以，某些穩定幣的壽命，其實是很短的。

In the U.K., the government has recommended giving the Bank of England powers to

在英國，政府已經建議賦予英格蘭銀行權力，以便

step in if a stablecoin of "systemic scale" ends up failing.

如果一個 "系統性規模 "的穩定幣最終失敗了，就會有人介入。

While most economists agree stablecoins aren't yet big enough to pose a "systemic" risk,

雖然大多數經濟學家同意穩定幣還沒有大到足以構成 "系統性 "風險。

they're concerned that could eventually be the case if stablecoins are left to grow to

他們擔心，如果任由穩定幣發展到一定程度，最終可能出現這種情況。

a point where they become too big to fail — similar to what happened with the 2008 financial crisis.

變得大而不能倒--類似於2008年金融危機時的情況。

This gives me nightmares because it takes me back to the Lehman Brothers collapse in 2008.

這讓我做噩夢，因為它讓我回到了2008年雷曼兄弟公司的倒閉。

And everybody was saying the same thing at the time.

而當時每個人都在說同樣的話。

The financial world is so complex, that nobody quite understood all these financial Instruments

金融世界是如此複雜，以至於沒有人完全理解所有這些金融工具。

and how they interacted with each other.

以及它們如何相互作用。

So nobody knew that there was trouble on the horizon because it was too much

所以沒有人知道有麻煩在地平線上，因為它是太多了

for any one human brain to understand.

任何一個人的大腦都無法理解。

Similarly, with Terra Luna, the complexity just bamboozled everybody.

同樣，對於《月球》，其複雜性讓所有人都感到困惑。

I think, in general, all cryptocurrency market participants will benefit from better regulation

我認為，總的來說，所有加密貨幣市場參與者都將從更好的監管中受益

of all the assets that are currently in circulation, including stable coins.

的所有資產，目前正在流通，包括穩定的硬幣。

I think better regulation will improve transparency and will improve trust in this technology.

我認為更好的監管將提高透明度，並將提高對這項技術的信任。

If we can offer certain system of auditing, of control, of monitoring,

如果我們能夠提供一定的審計、控制和監督系統。

better requirements on the transparency and disclosure, so I think this really will help everyone.

在透明度和披露方面有更好的要求，所以我認為這真的會幫助大家。