The Crypto Atlas

Arc is Circle’s attempt to turn stablecoin issuance into a complete financial stack: an EVM-compatible chain built around predictable USDC fees, institutional settlement, embedded FX, selective privacy, and eventually decentralized security.

Comprehensive explainer on BTC covering Bitcoin’s design, 21M cap, network activity, ETFs, DeFi integrations, security risks, and its role alongside ETH, USDT, and traditional markets, written for long-term crypto investors.

Stablecoins explained: how fiat-backed, crypto-collateralized, and hybrid designs work, why payments and yield are the key battlegrounds, and what GENIUS Act regulation means for USDC and the broader market.

Deep explainer on USD Coin (USDC), covering its design, reserves, regulation, multi-chain deployment, DeFi and payment use cases, and key risks, to help crypto readers understand how this dollar stablecoin underpins modern crypto markets.

Binance is simultaneously a dominant exchange, derivatives venue, token-distribution platform, Web3 gateway, and regulatory test case. Its scale creates deep liquidity and broad access, but also concentrates custody, compliance, and market-structure risk.

Gold as a monetary asset, safe-haven benchmark, and on-chain token — covering tokenized gold, the Bitcoin comparison, DeFi integration, Tether's aUSDT shutdown, and what 25x gold leverage on crypto platforms signals about converging markets.

Bybit has grown from a derivatives specialist into a broad crypto-finance platform. Its opportunity lies in joining trading, tokenization and institutional services; its central tests remain regulation, product transparency and custody security.

Ethena is a synthetic dollar protocol issuing USDe, a delta‑neutral, yield‑bearing crypto dollar now embedded across Ethereum, Solana and beyond via sUSDe, ENA governance and RWA partnerships with firms like Coinbase and Janus Henderson.

A corporate Bitcoin treasury holds BTC as a primary reserve asset instead of cash. This explainer covers how the model works, who pioneered it, who has copied it, and where it fails.

USDT (Tether) is the world's largest stablecoin by market cap, pegged 1:1 to the US dollar and used as the primary trading and settlement currency across crypto exchanges and DeFi protocols globally.

In-depth explainer on crypto payment cards: how stablecoin-backed Visa/Mastercard products work, market growth, rewards, fees, privacy, DeFi and self-custodial designs, plus the regulatory and infrastructure shifts shaping this emerging payments rail.

Mastercard is integrating stablecoin settlement and AI agent payments across Solana, Ethereum, Polygon and more—reshaping how its 3.7B-card network clears transactions onchain with USDC, RLUSD, and PYUSD.

In-depth explainer on stablecoin infrastructure: how USDC and other tokens plus banking, compliance, and payment networks form a new global settlements rail for cross-border payments, cards, treasury, and AI-native finance.

MoonPay is a crypto payments infrastructure company offering fiat onramps, stablecoin virtual accounts, institutional MPC custody, DeFi access, and AI agent payment tools across 200+ blockchain networks.

In-depth explainer on global stablecoin rules, covering U.S. GENIUS Act reforms, EU MiCA, UK and Asian regimes, AML/KYC, reserve and risk standards, and what evolving regulations mean for stablecoin users, DeFi builders and institutional crypto adoption.

BOLD is Liquity V2's decentralized, ETH-backed stablecoin with user-set borrowing rates. Learn how it works, how it earns 7-10% yield via stability pools and yBOLD, its A- rating, risks, and market position.

In‑depth explainer on Sky Protocol, covering its MakerDAO origins, USDS and sUSDS design, Sky Savings Rate, Agent Network, governance and S&P rating, integrations across CeFi/DeFi, risk profile, and how it compares with USDC, DAI and other stablecoins.

Crypto taxes vary sharply by country—from the US treating gains as property income to Japan's landmark 20% flat rate reform and Illinois's controversial 0.2% transaction levy. Here's how the rules work globally.

The Ethereum Foundation is a Swiss nonprofit stewarding Ethereum's core research and development. A 2025–2026 leadership exodus and funding debate have raised questions about protocol sustainability and governance direction.

Crypto money laundering explained — how criminals use mixers, privacy coins, and stablecoins to hide illicit funds, and how regulators from the DOJ to the EU are responding with tighter KYC rules and enforcement actions.

Deep explainer on Aave’s GHO stablecoin: how it works, its Aave-native design, governance and risk, cross-chain growth, CeFi ramps, Curve and Horizon integrations, and how it compares to USDC and other CDP stablecoins.

USDe is Ethena's delta-neutral synthetic dollar stablecoin, backed by hedged crypto collateral and generating native yield via perpetual funding rates, with $6B+ supply and deep integrations across Aave, Morpho, and Coinbase.

Explains what “license” means in crypto, covering regulatory approvals (MiCA, VARA, MAS, HK stablecoin regime, US MTLs), software and content licenses, and how licensing shapes launches, payments, stablecoins and competition across major jurisdictions.

In‑depth explainer on how Bitcoin payments work, from on‑chain and Lightning to stablecoins, POS integrations, AI agents and mortgages, examining real‑world use, risks, regulation and how BTC fits alongside Ethereum and fiat rails.

frxUSD is Frax Finance's reserve-backed stablecoin, fully collateralized by tokenized U.S. Treasury funds like BlackRock's BUIDL. Learn how it works, its sfrxUSD yield, and its Aave, Curve, and cross-chain growth.

A decentralized, on-chain USD-pegged asset, fxUSD is the primary stablecoin of **f(x) Protocol**, minted against ETH and BTC collateral and tightly coupled to a novel leverage engine that splits yield and risk between stable holders and leveraged traders. By combining overcollateralized borrowing, protocol-native lever

In‑depth explainer on emerging stablecoin bills, from the US GENIUS Act and yield fight to Hong Kong and Canada’s regimes, unpacking how new laws on reserves, licensing, and interest reshape USDC‑style tokens, DeFi, and the future of digital dollars.

Comprehensive explainer on Terra’s rise, UST–LUNA algorithmic design, 2022 collapse, legal fallout, Terra Classic revival, and the lasting impact on stablecoins, DeFi risk, market structure, and crypto regulation.

Deep dive into USDH, the Hyperliquid-native stablecoin born from a high-stakes issuer war, its integration with HYPE and pmUSDH, the SPACEX-USDH oracle shock, and its eventual sunset as Hyperliquid pivots back to USDC.

A neutral explainer on stablecoin liquidity: what it means across issuance, trading, and DeFi, how fragmentation and CCTP-style transfers reshape it, plus institutional integration, payments, risks, and outlook.