Omnipresent stablecoins: 2
Omnipresent stablecoins: 10+
Centralized stablecoins are critical crypto infrastructure. The Ethereum ecosystem depends on them as DEX liquidity hubs, on-chain reserve assets, and DeFi collateral.
Yet 92% of centralized stables are managed by the two companies behind USDC and USDT. As a consequence, Ethereum has a bus factor of 2 companies. This poses a systemic risk. If they’re disrupted, shit hits the fan. USDC's depeg offered a glimpse. When this one token didn't do its job, FRAX, DAI, LUSD depegged, liquidity for many pairs on Uniswap and Curve evaporated, and the Aave DAO had to pass an emergency proposal.
A duopoly also jeopardizes Ethereum's censorship resistance. If Ethereum needs to hard fork—the last line of defense against censorship—the duopoly can pick the winning fork.
So we need more stablecoin diversity. Vitalik agrees. The ideal ecosystem has multiple stablecoins with widespread adoption—integrated in DeFi protocols, strong DEX liquidity, and easy to on/off-ramp—so there's always alternatives to migrate to.
Diversification is best done gradually. If we all make a habit of advancing minority stablecoins whenever we can, soon enough we'll have improved. We recommend supporting stablecoins that are differentiated from USDC/T. Carbon copies can't compete (or at least it's harder).
That said, we do not necessarily have a clairvoyant answer to solving this stablecoin diversity crisis. We're collecting a diversity of opinions on how to move towards an ecosystem with healthy stablecoin diversification. Please message @garmrdotcom on Twitter or Telegram to share your perspective and get it added here.
Why does this campaign focus on centralized stablecoins?
Decentralized stablecoins don't pose a systemic risk as their TVL is smaller and they don’t depend on a single company.