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Finance and economics - Cryptocurrencies 音频： 00:00 06:42

Unstablecoin

不稳定的稳定币

Cryptocurrencies

加密货币

Unstablecoin

不稳定的稳定币

The crypto infrastructure cracks

加密货币大厦将倾

It has been a vicious year for financial markets, and more punishing still for crypto assets. The market capitalisation of crypto has slumped to just $1.3trn, from nearly $3trn in November. On May 18th bitcoin traded at around $29,000, a mere 40% of its all-time high in November; the price of ether, another cryptocurrency, has collapsed just as spectacularly. Six months ago Coinbase, an exchange and the leading crypto-industry stock, was worth $79bn. Now it is valued at just $14bn, and the firm is “reassessing its headcount needs”.

金融市场经历了糟糕的一年，加密资产的日子尤其不好过：其市场规模已从去年11月份的近3万亿美元跌至当前的区区1.3万亿美元。5月18日，比特币交易价格约为29000美元，仅为11月份历史最高水平的40%；另一种加密货币以太币的价格也同样一落千丈。6个月前，作为加密货币第一股，数字货币交易所Coinbase的市值达到790亿美元。如今，市值仅剩140亿美元的Coinbase正在“重新评估其员工规模及用人需求”。

The sell-off comes as the Federal Reserve begins raising interest rates. Tech stocks, high-yield bonds and other risky assets have also swooned. But crypto’s bruising comedown is interesting for a deeper reason: it has exposed weaknesses in the plumbing of the system.

伴随着美联储加息周期的开始，加密货币也开始遭遇抛售。科技股、高收益债券和其他风险资产同样应声下跌。然而，与其他资产不同，币圈的血流成河充分暴露出了金融管道的脆弱性，这一深层原因也让“币圈大逃杀”显得格外耐人寻味。

The problems lie with the market for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency that is pegged to another currency, often the dollar. Added together all stablecoins, the largest of which are Tether and usd coin (usdc), are worth around $170bn. These act as a bridge between conventional banks, where people use dollars, and the “on-blockchain” world, where people use crypto. The biggest such coins are also used by exchanges as a base for trading between cryptocurrencies.

问题出在稳定币市场。稳定币是与另一种货币（通常为美元）挂钩的加密货币，把所有稳定币加在一起，合计市值约为1700亿美元，而 Tether（又称泰达币或USDT）和USDC是其中体量最大的两种。稳定币在流通美元的传统银行与流通加密货币的的“区块链”世界之间充当桥梁。体量名列前茅的稳定币也被交易所用作不同加密货币之间交易的基准。

注释：

1.泰达币（USDT）是Tether公司推出的基于稳定价值货币美元（USD）的代币Tether USD（下称USDT）， 1USDT=1美元，用户可以随时使用USDT与USD进行1：1兑换。 其网站宣称严格遵守1：1的准备金保证，即每发行1枚USDT代币，其银行帐户都会有1 美元的资金保障。 在合规方面，所有涉及到法币的操作，都要求用户完成KYC认证。 当被问及用户如何验证银行帐户保证金时，其联合创始人Craig称法币由Tether Liminted公司保管，并有定期审计，但目前用户还不能直接查询保证金。

2.USD Coin：USDC由交易所巨头Coinbase和高盛集团旗下的Circle公司所开发。 Circle是美国持有执照的金流服务商，金流服务商必须遵守联邦法律及法规。 USDC联盟也获得纽约金融服务部（DFS）的许可，从事虚拟货币业务活动。其价值与美元挂钩，1USDC=1美元。它于2018年推出，目前是全球第二大稳定币，有价值270亿美元的加密货币在流通。Tether是最大的稳定币，有750亿美元的流通量。

From May 9th, Terra, then the fourth-largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, began to unravel. The implosion put pressure on Tether, which is meant to be pegged one-for-one with the dollar. On May 12th its price dipped to 95 cents. Some $9.1bn in Tether has since been redeemed for cash. The technology (and the jargon) associated with crypto may be newfangled, but to students of financial history, these events look familiar. They resemble the confidence crises that precede bank runs.

5月9日，彼时体量第四的稳定币 Terra开始崩盘，给稳定币Tether带来不小压力（Tether被设计成与美元挂钩，并保持1：1兑换）：5月12日，稳定币Tether价格降至95美分。随之而来的“挤兑”潮中，约91亿美元的Tether被兑换成现金。虽然时髦的区块链技术艰深晦涩，币圈潮词更是诘屈聱牙，但对于研究金融历史的学生而言，这些事件都似曾相识：银行挤兑潮爆发前也会出现类似的信心危机。

Every stablecoin has a mechanism to maintain its peg. The simplest (and safest) method is to hold a dollar in a bank account, or in safe, liquid assets like Treasury bills, for every stablecoin token. The token can be traded freely by buyers and sellers; when a seller wants to offload their stablecoin they either sell it on the open market, or redeem it for its dollar value from the issuer, who then destroys the token. usdc and Tether use versions of this method.

每种稳定币都有保持挂钩的机制。最简单（也是最安全）的一种方式就是，发行方每发行一个稳定币代币，都相应地在银行账号里存入1美元，或是持有价值1美元的安全流动资产，如美国短期国库券。买卖双方可自由交易代币；当卖家想转卖持有的稳定币，可在公开市场中出售，亦可从发行方将稳定币兑换成等价的美元，随后发行方将稳定币销毁。稳定币 usdc和Tether的交易形式大抵与此相似。

Others, like Terra, are called “algorithmic stablecoins”, because they use an automated process to support the peg. Their main distinguishing feature, however, is in how they are backed. Terra is backed by luna, a cryptocurrency issued by Terraform Labs, which also runs Terra. The idea was that holders of Terra could always redeem it for one dollar’s worth of newly minted luna. On May 5th, when luna was trading at $85 a piece, that meant a Terra holder could redeem it for 0.0118 lunas. If for some reason Terra was trading at less than $1, arbitrageurs could swoop in, buy a Terra, redeem it for luna and sell that for a profit.

其他稳定币（如Terra）被称作算法稳定币，因其挂钩体系为自动化运作。然而，它们之间的主要不同在于背书方式。Terra由luna背书，这是Terraform Labs发行的一种加密货币，该公司同时也运作着Terra。最初的设想是，每一枚Terra币可以自由兑换成价值一美元的、新造luna币。5月5日，luna的交易价是85美元／个，这表示1 Terra能兑换0.0118 个luna。如果因为某些原因，Terra的交易价不足1美元，套利者就会趁虚而入，买进Terra，并将其兑换成luna，然后卖出获利。

注释:

1. Terra: Terra是由美籍韩裔斯坦福计算机专业的高材生Do Kwon创建的算法稳定币平台。在某些方面，Terra类似于以太坊的智能合约区块链，它允许在Terra区块链上创建和部署智能合约。其主网于2019年发布，使用LUNA作为原生加密货币。

拓展: “死亡螺旋”是怎样形成的——Terra稳定币崩溃始末https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1732714293658679727&wfr=spider&for=pc&searchword=Terra%E5%B8%81

2. algorithmic stablecoins 算法稳定币

拓展阅读: “什么是算法稳定币？”https://m.sohu.com/a/548700406_121375586

3. peg 就汇率制度而言，它是pegged exchange rate的口头简称，泛指一国货币的汇率与某一基准挂钩的制度，常用的基准包括美元(如香港将港元与美元的汇率定在1美元兑7。8港元)及一篮子主要贸易伙伴的货币。

That system worked as long as luna had some market value. But on May 9th the price of luna began to slide. And that in turn put pressure on Terra’s peg—causing a rush to redeem. The supply of luna ballooned. On May 10th 350m tokens existed. By May 15th 6.5trn did. As the price of luna collapsed, Terra also went into free fall. Its price is now hovering at around 10 cents. Luna is worthless.

只要luna存在一定的市场价值，该体系即可运转如常。但在5月9日，luna的价格开始下跌。而这也令Terra的挂钩体系陷入困境，引发“挤兑”潮。luna的供应量激增：5月10日有3.5亿代币，到5月15日便增加到了6.5万亿。随着luna价格的崩盘，Terra也直线下跌。如今Terra价格在10美分附近徘徊。Luna则一文不值。

Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform, has tried to resuscitate Terra. He has turned the blockchain off and on again, “burned” tokens and attempted to split the blockchain. But nothing has worked so far.

Terraform的创始人Do Kwon曾试图重振Terra。他将区块链服务重启，销毁代币，并且尝试切分区块链。但至今为止所有的努力都无济于事。

注释：

1. resuscitate：If you resuscitate something, you cause it to become active or successful again. 使复兴

2. blockchain split：A permanent chain split is described as a case when there are two or more permanent versions of a blockchain sharing the same history up to a certain time, after which the histories start to differ. Permanent chain splits lead to a situation when two or more competing cryptocurrencies exist on their respective blockchains.

资料来源：https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fork_(blockchain)#cite_note-4

Terra’s implosion has had wider and more worrying repercussions: it has prompted flight from Tether. Those fleeing may have felt anxious about the lack of detail regarding Tether’s backing. The company once said it backed its tokens with “ us dollars”, a claim New York’s attorney-general said in 2021 was “a lie”. Now the firm says its tokens are “backed 100% by Tether’s reserves”. This appears to be some mix of cash, Treasuries and corporate debt, but the company has refused to disclose the details, claiming that its asset mix is its “secret sauce”.

Terra的崩盘产生了更加广泛和令人担忧的后果：它触发了Tether的抛售潮。这些逃离的资金可能担忧于Tether背后语焉不详的背书。Tether公司曾经表示以美元来背书其代币（USDT），这一说法在2021年被纽约州总检察长斥为 “谎言”。如今，Tether公司表示其代币完全由公司资产储备（似乎包含现金、国债和公司债的投资组合）来背书。但是该公司拒绝披露更多细节，声称其资产组合是其“秘密武器”。

注释：

1. implosion：the act or process of imploding 向内爆炸

2. repercussion：If an action or event has repercussions, it causes unpleasant things to happen some time after the original action or event. 后果

As with many past bank runs, where depositors fled to safety, holders have sold off Terra and Tether and rushed to tokens perceived to be of higher quality. One example is usd coin, which holds only cash or Treasuries, and publishes regular audited reports to that effect. Dai, another stablecoin backed by crypto and managed by algorithms, has managed to maintain its peg.

就像在银行挤兑潮中想要保全资产的储户一样，投资者们纷纷抛售Terra和Tether，蜂拥而向在圈内口碑更好的代币，如USDC。不严格地说，USDC完全由现金和国债背书，并且定期发布经审计的报告。另一个算法稳定币Dai，设法维持住了其币值的挂钩体系。

注释：

1.to that effect：大意是 ; 大意是说 ; 意思是 ; 主要内容是

2.Dai：Dai是一种稳定币加密货币，旨在通过以太坊区块链上的智能合约自动化系统将其价值保持在尽可能接近一美元的水平。 Dai由MakerDAO维护和监管，MakerDAO是一个分散的自治组织，由其治理令牌MKR的所有者组成，MKR 可以对其智能合约中的某些参数的更改进行投票，以确保Dai的稳定性。

Still, that other stablecoins have survived might be small comfort if Tether does not. If Tether really is backed by illiquid assets, or perhaps assets that have fallen in value this year, then the more some holders redeem its tokens, the less remains in the pot for others. The implosion of the world’s biggest and oldest stablecoin would be much more catastrophic than was Terra’s. Tether is not only a financial bridge between crypto and conventional money—ie, dollars in bank accounts—but also between all kinds of crypto pairs that are traded on exchanges. The three biggest and most liquid cryptocurrency pairs on Binance, the biggest exchange, for instance, are bitcoin and Tether; ether and Tether; and Binance’s own stablecoin, busd, and Tether.

不过，如果Tether 没有幸存，其他稳定货币幸存下来也只能算是一个小小的安慰。如果Tether 真的是由非流动资产，抑或其他今年在贬值的资产背书，那么持有者越是挤兑，其他持有者就越难保住自己的财富。迄今全球体量最大最大、发行时间最长的稳定币一旦崩溃，将带来远超Terra 崩盘的负面影响。Tether 不仅仅是加密货币和传统货币（即银行中的美元）的桥梁，还充当了不同加密货币对之间互相兑换的中间媒介。比如，在最大的交易所(Binance)币安上，三种规模最大、流动性最高的加密货币对分别是：比特币-Tether，ether-Tether, 以及 busd-Tether（busd是币安自己的稳定币）。

Tether redeems only its big users, who are pulling $100,000 or more from it at a time, and even then at its discretion. Nonetheless, redemptions have continued apace over the past week. The loss of the peg on May 12th was a reflection of the stinginess of that system. Smaller holders who wanted out had to sell the token on the open market. The stablecoin has not fully recovered its peg. For a year it traded at or above $1; since May 12th, it has traded slightly below it. Crypto’s most important bit of plumbing is still leaking.

Tether 只为单笔提取大于10万美金的大客户兑付，但即使是这种大客户，能否成功拿回自己的钱也得看Tether的脸色。尽管如此，过去一周，兑付仍在持续。这一制度的的吝啬本质也从5月12日的脱钩中显露无疑。小规模持有者如果想要退场则必须在公开市场出售代币。Tether目前还没有完全恢复挂钩。在过去一年，其都以1美元及以上的价格交易；但从12号开始，它的交易价格已略微低于1美元。加密货币赖以生存的生命线上，依旧危机四伏。

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