‘Stablecoins’ are an outdated term from crypto’s early years: a16z Crypto

Stablecoins, the name given to cryptocurrencies pegged to the price of a stable asset such as the US dollar or gold, have outgrown their label as they become part of the global financial system, said Robert Hackett, head of special projects at a16z crypto. 

Source: John Palmer

The stablecoin name will likely linger 

Hackett said a rebrand to a term that better captures the essence of the technology, such as “digital cash” or “programmable money,” is too clunky to use. 

Related: Stablecoins overtake Bitcoin in Latin America crypto purchases — Bitso 

At the same time, he argued that the first term that gains traction with a new technology often sticks, such as email, which no longer operates like traditional mail, or horsepower when describing a car’s engine power.

“Stablecoins will probably follow the same quirky etymological path. The skeuomorphic name may linger long after it stops being descriptive. Or it may gradually fade as we simply speak of digital dollars, digital euros and other onchain assets,” Hackett said. 

“Most likely though, the technology will disappear into the background entirely and become just how money works, the same way we stopped saying electric lighting once that newfangled gadgetry became the default. Now they’re just lights.”

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