Stablecoins

What if a dollar could travel across the internet in seconds, at any hour of any day?

That is the idea behind stablecoins, digital tokens designed to always be worth one dollar. They are already used to move hundreds of billions of dollars. You may never buy one on purpose, but the app you use to pay someone abroad may already run on one.

Stablecoins: A Primer for the Rest of Us is a plain-English guide for readers with no background in crypto. There's no jargon and no hype, just everyday examples and simple diagrams that make the ideas clear.

Inside, you'll learn:

• What a stablecoin is, and what backs it
• How a dollar becomes a token and back again
• Why sending money abroad can be faster and cheaper
• The main types of stablecoins, and who is building them
• The new rules arriving, and the risks that remain
• A checklist of questions to ask before you use one

A stablecoin is not a bank deposit, and this book won't tell you what to buy. You'll come away understanding how digital dollars work, who is behind them and what questions to ask.

Part of The Osborne Primer Series, short guides to digital finance for the rest of us, by bestselling author and fintech professor Annelise Osborne. Also check out her other books: From Hoodies to Suits: Innovating Digital Assets in Traditional Finance (Wiley, 2024) and Hold On for Dear Life (KDP, 2026).