Basis—the “stable” cryptocurrency with $133 million invested—explained

Enlarge / A bollard. (credit: praveenkay / Flickr)

Last week, we learned that an impressive slate of Silicon Valley investors was pouring $133 million into Basis, a company that aims to create a cryptocurrency with a stable value against the dollar.

It's easy to see why investors would be excited about a project like this. If successful, it would provide all the benefits of conventional cryptocurrencies without the volatility that plagues bitcoin and its competitors today. Demand for such a cryptocurrency could easily outstrip demand for conventional cryptocurrency, since volatility is one of their big weaknesses.

But there's no guarantee that the Basis project will succeed. Lots of people have tried to create stablecoins in the past, with generally poor results.

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