Stablecoin
A cryptocurrency designed to hold a fixed value, usually pegged 1:1 to the US dollar.
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency engineered to hold a steady value — almost always $1. The largest, like USDT and USDC, are backed by reserves of cash and short-term government debt held by the issuer; each token is meant to be redeemable for one dollar.
Stablecoins are crypto’s working capital: traders park profits in them, exchanges quote prices against them, and they move dollars across borders in minutes. Their main risks are issuer risk (are the reserves real and audited?) and de-pegging — several algorithmic stablecoins, which tried to hold the peg with code instead of reserves, have collapsed to zero.