Finance · ExplainerWhat is a stablecoin, and how does it stay at one dollar?Stablecoins are crypto tokens built to stay boring: one token, one dollar. Whether they manage it depends on what backs them, who can redeem them and what the law requires.7 min readSection
Finance
Crypto did not replace the financial system — it grew up beside it and is now being plugged into it. To understand the headlines you need the basics of the system it plugs into.
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Finance · ExplainerWhat is a stablecoin, and how does it stay at one dollar?Stablecoins are crypto tokens built to stay boring: one token, one dollar. Whether they manage it depends on what backs them, who can redeem them and what the law requires.7 min read
Finance · ExplainerHow do banks create money when they make a loan?Most of the money in your account was never printed. It was typed into existence by a bank when someone borrowed. Here is how that works, and what keeps it in check.7 min read
Finance · ExplainerWhat is tokenization of real-world assets, and does it change what you own?Tokenization puts a claim on a bond, fund or other asset onto a blockchain. It can change how the asset is recorded and traded. It does not change what the asset is, or the law that applies to it.7 min readAll Finance pages
Finance · ExplainerHow do interest rates work, and who decides them?An interest rate is the price of money over time. Central banks set one key rate, and almost every loan, savings account and bond price you see moves in its shadow.
Finance · ExplainerWhat is a central bank digital currency (CBDC)?A CBDC would put central bank money, today available to the public only as notes and coins, into a digital wallet. Most central banks are studying the idea; very few have gone live.
Finance · ExplainerWho really holds your crypto? Custody, keys and wallets explainedWith crypto, whoever controls the private key controls the asset. Custody is the question of who holds that key, and the answer decides what you can lose, and to whom.
Finance · ExplainerWhat is inflation, and why does it shrink the value of your money?Inflation is the slow rise in the general price level that makes each dollar, euro or pound buy a little less every year. Understanding how it is measured makes headlines, savings rates and central bank decisions much easier to read.
Finance · ExplainerStocks, bonds and crypto: what do you own, and what can go wrong?A share, a bond and a crypto token can all sit side by side in one app, but they are very different things. One is a slice of a company, one is a loan, and one is a digital asset whose price rests on demand alone.
Finance · ExplainerWhat is a money market fund, and is it as safe as a bank account?Money market funds are where many people and companies park cash they may need soon. They are built to be steady, but they are investments, not bank deposits, and that difference matters most in a crisis.
Finance · ExplainerWhat is compound interest, and why does time matter so much?Compound interest is interest that earns interest of its own. The idea fits in one sentence, but its effect over decades surprises almost everyone who runs the numbers for the first time.