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Stablecoins: the real crypto craze

本篇文章节选自经济学人 Feb 23rd 2025Finance & economics | Hard cash, soft rules

BEHIND THE vaulted arches of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, above the haggling and the crush, a quieter trade unfolds. In dimly lit corridors, men slip in and out of back rooms, clutching bundles of dollars. Amid the shadows, a trader says that he deals in millions daily, mostly swapped for stablecoins—cryptocurrencies pegged to other assets, usually the greenback.

vaulted /ˈvɔːltɪd/：拱顶的

Grand Bazaar /ɡrænd bəˈzɑːr/ ：大巴扎（伊斯坦布尔的大型市场） 

haggle: 讨价还价

crush /krʌʃ/ ：人群

corridor /ˈkɒrɪdɔːr/：走廊

stablecoins /ˈsteɪblkoɪnz/ 稳定币（一种与资产挂钩的加密货币）

greenback /ˈɡriːnbæk/ ：美元；美钞

在远离嘈杂拥挤吆喝声中，伊斯坦布尔大巴扎的拱顶之下，一种静谧的交易活动正悄然展开。昏暗的走廊里，男人们频繁穿梭于后室，手中紧攥着一叠叠美元。在走廊的阴影里，一位交易商透露，他每日经手的交易额高达数百万，主要以稳定币进行兑换——这种加密货币通常与其他资产（尤其是美元）挂钩。

In part, this reflects the broader crypto boom—but stablecoins are increasingly used for real-world purposes, too. Migrants send remittances with them, replacing a correspondent-banking system beset by high fees and delays. The Turkish trader says that shopkeepers in the Grand Bazaar pay suppliers with the coins as they are the fastest option. In countries where inflation erodes savings and dollars are scarce they are catching on as a store of value. A survey of stablecoin-holders in Turkey and four other emerging markets by Castle Island Ventures, which invests in crypto startups, and Visa, a payments giant, finds that nearly half use them for this purpose.

crypto /ˈkraɪptəʊ/ ：加密的，特指加密货币

remittance /rɪˈmɪtəns/ - 汇款

correspondent-banking system ：银行代理系统

beset /bɪˈset/ - 困扰，使苦恼

erode /ɪˈrəʊd/ - 侵蚀，逐渐削弱

store of value - 价值储存

emerging market - 新兴市场

得益于加密货币的蓬勃发展，稳定币的应用场景也日益丰富，越来越多地融入现实生活中的各个层面。移民们使用稳定币进行汇款，以此替代传统银行汇款系统，这避免了高昂费用和漫长延迟的困扰。一位土耳其交易商指出，大巴扎的店主们倾向于使用稳定币来支付供应商款项，因为这种方式最为快捷。在那些饱受通货膨胀侵蚀储蓄、美元供应稀缺的国家里，稳定币正逐渐被视作一种有效的储值手段。一项针对土耳其及其他四个新兴市场稳定币持有者的调查显示，近半数的人将稳定币作为储值手段，该调查由 Castle Island Ventures（一家专注于投资加密货币初创企业的机构）与支付巨头 Visa 联合开展。

As stablecoins have gained real-world traction, notes Bernstein, a broker, their market capitalisation has decoupled from that of cryptocurrencies more broadly (see chart). America, where stablecoins are central to crypto trading, remains the world’s biggest market, according to Chainalysis. Relative to economic size, though, Turkey is now the home of stablecoin transactions: in the year to March 2024 purchases alone were worth 4.3% of GDP. In the year to June, Ethiopia saw the fastest growth—almost a tripling—in transactions of less than $10,000, most of which were probably remittances and everyday payments.

traction /ˈtrækʃn/：牵引力，此处引申为 “吸引力，接受度

broker /ˈbrəʊkə(r)/：经纪人，中介

market capitalisation：市场资本化

decouple /ˌdiːˈkʌpl/：脱钩，分离

伯恩斯坦（Bernstein）指出，随着稳定币在现实世界中应用范围的不断扩大，其市值已经与加密货币整体市值呈现出脱钩趋势（请见图表）。据 Chainalysis 的数据显示，尽管美国因稳定币在加密货币交易中的核心地位而依然是全球最大的市场，但土耳其现已在经济规模相对比例上成为稳定币交易的中心：在截至 2024 年 3 月的一年中，稳定币购买额占到了该国 GDP 的 4.3%。而在截至 6 月的一年里，埃塞俄比亚的稳定币交易量增长最为迅猛，尤其是低于 1 万美元的交易量几乎实现了三倍的增长，这些交易很可能主要来自于汇款和日常支付。

Tether, the dominant stablecoin, accounts for 70% of activity. Tether, the company, makes money by investing its reserves. It says it has $113bn, or 72% of its assets, in American Treasuries, which rising yields have turned into a cash cow. But dominance brings risks. A loss of confidence in tether could shake the market, much as the collapse of Terra-Luna, an algorithimc stablecoin system, did in 2022. If Tether was forced to fire-sell its government bonds, it could also have consequences for mainstream financial markets.

Tether /ˈteðə(r)/ - 泰达币（一种稳定币）

account for - 占（比例），解释

reserve /rɪˈzɜːrv/ - 储备金

American Treasuries - 美国国债

cash cow - 摇钱树，指能持续带来高收益的事物

fire-sell - 紧急抛售

在稳定币市场中，Tether（泰达币）占据了 70% 的市场份额，通过管理其储备资金实现盈利。该公司宣称持有价值 1130 亿美元的资产，其中 72% 投资于美国国债，而这部分资产随着收益率的增长，已成为其盈利的重要来源。然而，其市场主导地位同时也伴随着风险。一旦市场对 Tether 的信心动摇，可能会引发整个市场的波动，类似 2022 年 Terra-Luna（一种算法稳定币体系）崩溃所带来的连锁反应。此外，若 Tether 被迫出售所持有的政府债券，主流金融市场也可能会因此受到波及。

Tether insists its model is secure. It has proved resilient: during the Terra-Luna collapse, the firm made more than $10bn in redemptions in a fortnight while maintaining its peg to the dollar. Yet Tether’s opacity means that future difficulties cannot be ruled out, says Rajeev Bamra of Moody’s, a rating agency. Unlike Circle, its main rival, Tether does not undergo independent audits, making it hard to know whether its assets—which besides Treasuries include riskier things, such as bitcoin—match its liabilities. Nor does it disclose where its reserves are held. S&P, another rating agency, assigns tether a risk rating (in terms of its ability to keep its dollar peg) of four out of five. Circle’s USDC gets a two.

resilient /rɪˈzɪliənt/ - 有复原力的，坚韧的

redemption /rɪˈdemʃn/ - 赎回

fortnight /ˈfɔːtnaɪt/ - 两星期

peg /peg/ - 钉住，此处指稳定币与美元挂钩

opacity /ˌɒpəˈsɪti/ - 不透明性

rule out - 排除，不考虑

audit /ˈɔːdɪt/ - 审计

liability /ˌlaɪəˈbɪləti/ - 负债

disclose /dɪsˈkləʊz/ - 披露，透露

assign /əˈsaɪn/ - 分配，指定

Tether 坚称自己的模式安全可靠，并已通过实际表现证明了其稳固性：在 Terra-Luna 崩溃事件期间，该公司迅速应对，在短短两周内完成了超过 100 亿美元的赎回请求，同时维持了与美元的挂钩稳定。然而，穆迪评级机构的 Rajeev Bamra 指出，Tether 在透明度方面的不足意味着未来仍可能面临未知的挑战。与主要竞争对手 Circle 相比，Tether 尚未接受独立审计，这使得外界难以验证其资产（涵盖美国国债及比特币等较高风险资产）是否与负债相匹配，同时其储备资金的存放地点也未予公开。另一方面，标准普尔（S&P）在评估 Tether 维持美元挂钩能力的风险时，给出了四分（满分为五分）的评级，而 Circle 的 USDC 则获得了较低的两分评价。

Many governments are becoming stricter. In January European exchanges delisted tether for failing to comply with new EU laws. Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s boss, is critical of the rules, particularly a requirement that stablecoins hold 60% of reserves in bank deposits. “If a bank fails, the stablecoin fails with it,” he argues. Still, he says, emerging markets are his real focus.

delist /ˌdiːˈlɪst/ - 下市，从交易所摘牌

comply with - 遵守，符合

众多政府正逐步加强监管力度。今年 1 月，由于 Tether 未能遵循欧盟新出台的规定，欧洲多家交易所已将其下架。Tether 的首席执行官 Paolo Ardoino 对这些新规定表达了批评和不满，尤其是新规要求稳定币需将 60% 的储备资金存放于银行的规定，他担忧地指出：“一旦银行出现问题，稳定币也将难逃一劫。” 然而，他强调，真正让他感到关注的是新兴市场的发展态势。

Tighter oversight is not all bad for stablecoins, facilitating interest from mainstream financial institutions. Stripe, a payments giant, has bought Bridge, a stablecoin-infrastructure startup. Visa has built a platform to help lenders issue coins; BBVA, Spain’s second-largest bank, will be among the first to use it, perhaps for money transfers. Stablecoins have demonstrated their value in the backrooms of the Grand Bazaar. Their next task is to do so in the regulators’ offices and boardrooms of Washington, DC and Wall Street

尽管严格的监管对稳定币带来了挑战，但同时也激发了主流金融机构的浓厚兴趣。支付巨头 Stripe 收购了稳定币基础设施领域的初创企业 Bridge，而 Visa 则搭建了一个助力贷款机构发行稳定币的平台，西班牙第二大银行 BBVA 计划成为首批采用该平台的银行之一，此举或将应用于汇款业务。稳定币已在大巴扎幕后交易中展现了其独特价值，而今，它们正致力于在华盛顿特区、华尔街的监管机构及各大董事会的面前，进一步证明自身的价值与潜力。

外刊长难句

昨日难句及标准答案

From The New York Times

"Despite the increasing reliance on renewable energy sources, many nations continue to struggle with the transition from fossil fuels, grappling with economic, political, and infrastructural challenges that complicate the shift to a more sustainable future."

标准答案

尽管对可再生能源的依赖日益增加，许多国家在从化石燃料过渡的过程中仍然面临困难，不断应对经济、政治和基础设施方面的挑战，这使得向更可持续的未来转型变得更加复杂。

生词和习语注解：

reliance (n.) — 依赖，依靠

名词，表示对某事物的依赖性或依靠程度。

renewable energy sources (n. phrase) — 可再生能源

名词短语，表示从自然界获取且不会耗尽的能源，如太阳能、风能等。

struggle (v.) — 斗争，挣扎、

动词，表示在面对困难或挑战时付出艰苦的努力。

transition (n.) — 转型，过渡

名词，表示从一种状态或情况向另一种状态的过渡。

fossil fuels (n. phrase) — 化石燃料

名词短语，指由古代有机物质分解形成的能源，如石油、煤炭、天然气等。

grapple with (v. phrase) — 努力应对，艰难处理

动词短语，表示面对复杂或困难的问题进行艰难的应对和处理。

infrastructural (adj.) — 基础设施的

形容词，表示与道路、电力、通信等基本设施相关的事物。

complicate (v.) — 使复杂化

动词，表示使事情变得更加困难和复杂。

语法分析：

Despite the increasing reliance on renewable energy sources:

Despite 引导让步状语，表示尽管存在某种情况。

the increasing reliance 是名词短语，作让步状语的核心，表示对可再生能源的依赖在增加。

many nations continue to struggle with the transition from fossil fuels:

many nations 是主语，表示许多国家。

continue to struggle 是谓语，表示这些国家继续在某事物上遇到困难。

with the transition from fossil fuels 是介词短语，修饰 struggle，表示在从化石燃料向其他能源转型的过程中遇到的挑战。

grappling with economic, political, and infrastructural challenges:

grappling with 是现在分词短语，进一步解释 struggle 的内容，表示它们正在努力应对经济、政治和基础设施方面的挑战。

 that complicate the shift to a more sustainable future:

that 引导的定语从句，修饰 challenges，表示这些挑战使得向更可持续的未来转型变得复杂。

今日外刊难句：

From Financial Times

"The increasing integration of artificial intelligence into various sectors has the potential to revolutionize industries, but it also raises concerns about job displacement and the ethical implications of automation on a global scale."

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