Assets terms in the payments glossary
The instruments that move on stablecoin rails — what stablecoins are, how they are minted, redeemed, and backed, and how reserves are verified.
Stablecoin
A cryptocurrency designed to hold a stable value by pegging to another asset — usually the US dollar — and backed one-for-one by reserves.
On-ramp and off-ramp
The conversion points between fiat and digital assets — an on-ramp turns dollars into stablecoins, an off-ramp turns stablecoins back into dollars.
Mint and burn
How stablecoin supply tracks its reserves — issuers mint new tokens when dollars come in and burn tokens when dollars are redeemed.
Reserve attestation
An independent accountant’s report verifying that a stablecoin issuer’s reserves matched the tokens in circulation as of a point in time.
Cold storage
The practice of holding digital assets with private keys kept offline — out of reach of the internet, and of any automated system that could be compromised.