Top Decentralized Stablecoin Alternatives to USTC (Formerly UST)

The recent cataclysmic crash of the Terra Classic (LUNC; formerly LUNA) left several people bankrupt. South Korean officials reported 8 confirmed suicides due to this blow.

Stablecoins emerged as a way for cryptocurrency investors to park their funds to escape from volatility. USTC (formerly UST) was among the largest stablecoins by market cap and the single largest stablecoin on the Cosmos blockchain.

This is not the first time an algorithmic stablecoin fell below the point of recovery. So much so that the head of the IMF even suggested that stablecoins that are not backed by physical assets are similar to pyramid schemes.

However, a crash as biblical as that of UST was a first for a stablecoin. While history seemed to have indicated this to be an obvious outcome, the utility of UST and the communities around LUNC-UST indicated otherwise.

The Death Spiral – Here’s What Went Wrong

Stablecoins are digital assets whose value is pegged to a fiat currency or other asset. USTC is one such stablecoin, pegged to the US dollar by not backed by it.

LUNC maintained USTC’s price algorithmically, using a mint and burn mechanism. When USTC’s demand-to-supply ratio was high, more LUNC was burnt. Contrariwise, more LUNC was minted when USTC’s supply-to-demand ratio was high. This created an arbitrage opportunity for traders which helped maintain USTC’s price at approximately $1.

However, when the selling pressure became too high for the algorithm to keep up, LUNC began to hyperinflate. It thus sent the entire ecosystem into a death spiral, eventually leading to a point of no recovery. Today, USTC costs less than $0.01 while LUNC is over 99% down from its all-time high.

Decentralized Alternatives – The Way Forward

The failure of algorithmic stablecoins doesn’t mean the end of all possibilities. Instead, they provide us with crucial lessons. One of them is avoiding centralization at all costs. So, here’s a list of non-algorithmic, decentralized stablecoins for you to consider while entering the world of crypto.

1. USDr

USDr is a collateralized, fiat-backed stable token receipt by METL, a first decentralized crypto on-ramp solution native to the Avalanche blockchain.

Since METL’s USDr stable token receipt is collateralized with a 1:1 ratio using USD, it will not be affected by unexpected selling pressures like in the case of LUNC and other algorithmic stablecoins.

The USDr token’s issuance mechanism is designed to have users be the actual issuers…