# Stablecoin glossary

Definitions of stablecoin, regulation and on-chain terms, each with verbatim quotes from regulators, laws and issuers.

Canonical: https://achivx.org/glossary/
Updated: 2026-11-01

Each term gives our own definition and the source text it rests on: regulators, laws, central banks and the issuers' own contracts and terms. Where the sources disagree, the term page says so.

| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| [KYC / AML](/glossary/kyc-aml/) | Customer identification (KYC) and anti-money-laundering (AML) controls that FATF standards and laws such as the GENIUS Act expect of issuers and VASPs. |
| [Stablecoin](/glossary/stablecoin/) | A crypto-asset designed to hold a stable value against a currency or other assets; legal definitions vary by jurisdiction. |
| [OFAC SDN list](/glossary/ofac-sdn-list/) | The US Treasury OFAC list of sanctioned persons whose assets are blocked; it can include crypto addresses. |
| [VASP](/glossary/vasp/) | FATF term for a business that exchanges, transfers or holds virtual assets for others; called CASP in the EU and PSAV in Argentina and Brazil. |
| [CBDC](/glossary/cbdc/) | Digital money issued by a central bank as its own direct liability, for banks only (wholesale) or for the public (retail). |
| [Blacklist (issuer blacklist)](/glossary/blacklist/) | The on-chain list of addresses an issuer's contract blocks from moving its stablecoin. |
| [Travel Rule](/glossary/travel-rule/) | The FATF rule that service providers send sender and recipient details along with crypto and stablecoin transfers. |
| [Fiat-backed stablecoin](/glossary/fiat-backed-stablecoin/) | A stablecoin that references a fiat currency and is backed by reserve assets such as deposits and short-term government debt. |
| [Crypto-collateralised stablecoin](/glossary/crypto-collateralised-stablecoin/) | A stablecoin created against crypto-asset collateral locked in a protocol, for example GHO, which Aave describes as over-collateralised. |
| [Synthetic dollar (delta-neutral)](/glossary/synthetic-dollar/) | A dollar-tracking token backed by spot crypto assets hedged with short derivatives so that price moves offset; Ethena's USDe is an example. |
| [Issuer](/glossary/issuer/) | The entity that creates a stablecoin and is responsible for redeeming it; laws limit who may act as one. |
| [Reserve / reserve assets](/glossary/reserve-assets/) | The assets an issuer holds to back outstanding stablecoins; laws set how much, of what kind, and how they are disclosed. |
| [Reserve attestation](/glossary/reserve-attestation/) | An independent accountant's opinion on an issuer's reserve figures at specific dates; standards and frequency differ by issuer and law. |
| [Proof of reserves](/glossary/proof-of-reserves/) | A custodian's snapshot check (Kraken's uses a Merkle tree) that its on-chain holdings cover client balances; not a full audit. |
| [Redemption](/glossary/redemption/) | Returning stablecoins to the issuer for the reference currency; who may redeem, how fast and at what fee depends on law and terms. |
| [Peg / depeg](/glossary/peg-depeg/) | The peg is the value a stablecoin targets, such as one unit of a currency; a depeg is when its market price moves away. |
| [Mint](/glossary/mint/) | Creating new stablecoin units on-chain, which increases total supply; done by the issuer's authorised minter or, in some protocols, by users. |
| [Burn](/glossary/burn/) | Removing stablecoin units from circulation, which lowers total supply; in the USDC and USDT contracts only the issuer's minter or owner role can do it. |
| [Net issuance](/glossary/net-issuance/) | Tokens minted minus tokens burned in a period; supply can also fall in other ways, e.g. when an issuer destroys a blacklisted balance. |
| [Freeze (address freeze)](/glossary/freeze/) | An issuer blocking a specific address so its stablecoins cannot be moved; the balance stays on the address. |
| [Unfreeze](/glossary/unfreeze/) | The issuer removing an address from its blacklist so that the address can move its stablecoins again. |
| [Seizure](/glossary/seizure/) | Taking frozen stablecoin value away from the holder, for example on an authority's order, or under the issuer's terms (e.g. destroying a blacklisted balance). |
| [Sanctions exposure](/glossary/sanctions-exposure/) | Working definition: how closely an address or flow of funds is linked to sanctioned persons or blocked property. |
| [Settlement / settled volume](/glossary/settled-volume/) | Working definition: the total value of stablecoin transfers completed in a period; the figure depends on which transfers are counted. |
| [Organic volume](/glossary/organic-volume/) | In the Stablecoin Scanner's method: settled stablecoin volume between parties, excluding transfers that touch exchanges, bridges or routers. |
| [Finality](/glossary/finality/) | Working definition: the point after which a recorded blockchain transfer can no longer be reversed or rewritten. |
| [Token standard (ERC-20, TRC-20, SPL)](/glossary/token-standard/) | Working definition: a shared contract interface, such as ERC-20 or TRC-20, that wallets and exchanges use to handle tokens. |
| [Wrong network transfer](/glossary/wrong-network-transfer/) | Working definition: sending a stablecoin on a network or token version the recipient does not support; recovery may be impossible. |
| [Bridged stablecoin (USDC.e)](/glossary/bridged-stablecoin/) | Working definition: a stablecoin copy on another chain, backed by originals locked in a contract, not issued by the issuer. |
| [Omnichain token (USDT0)](/glossary/omnichain-token/) | Working definition: a token moving across blockchains with one supply; USDT0 locks USDT on Ethereum and mints 1:1 elsewhere. |
| [Bridge / bridge crossing](/glossary/bridge/) | A system that moves tokens or messages between blockchains, e.g. by lock-and-mint, burn-and-mint or atomic swaps. |
| [Address poisoning](/glossary/address-poisoning/) | A scam that plants a lookalike address in a wallet's history so the owner later copies it and sends funds to the attacker. |
| [Token approval (allowance)](/glossary/token-approval/) | Working definition: a permission letting another address spend a holder's tokens up to a set allowance. |
| [Wallet label / attribution](/glossary/wallet-label/) | In the Stablecoin Scanner's method: a community-sourced name for an address with recorded provenance; not verified identity. |
| [Risk tier](/glossary/risk-tier/) | In the Stablecoin Scanner's method: a six-word heuristic rating of an address, from severe to none, or not assessed. |
| [Counterparty graph](/glossary/counterparty-graph/) | In the Stablecoin Scanner's method: a star-shaped chart of the addresses one address exchanged a stablecoin with. |
| [Left-censored date](/glossary/left-censored-date/) | In the Stablecoin Scanner's method: the date its observed history starts; silence before it proves nothing. |
| [Coverage and freshness](/glossary/coverage-and-freshness/) | Working definition: in the Stablecoin Scanner's method, which chains and tokens are indexed, and how up to date each figure is. |
| [Exchange netflow](/glossary/exchange-netflow/) | Working definition: in the Stablecoin Scanner's method, the net of stablecoins entering and leaving an exchange's known addresses over a period. |
| [Yield-bearing stablecoin](/glossary/yield-bearing-stablecoin/) | Working definition: a stablecoin product that pays holders a return; the GENIUS Act and MiCA bar issuer-paid interest on some tokens. |
| [Savings rate (Sky Savings Rate)](/glossary/savings-rate/) | Working definition: a variable return a stablecoin protocol pays on deposits; Sky's is funded from protocol surplus. |
| [Tokenised money-market fund](/glossary/tokenised-money-market-fund/) | Working definition: money market fund shares issued as blockchain tokens; the BIS says they offer returns at money market rates. |
| [Euro stablecoin (EMT)](/glossary/euro-stablecoin/) | Working definition: a stablecoin referencing the euro; under MiCA it is an e-money token, such as Circle's EURC. |
| [E-money token (EMT, MiCA)](/glossary/e-money-token/) | MiCA's category for a crypto-asset referencing one official currency, issued and redeemable at par by a credit or e-money institution. |
| [Asset-referenced token (ART, MiCA)](/glossary/asset-referenced-token/) | MiCA's category for a crypto-asset, other than an e-money token, that references another value, right or combination, including official currencies. |
| [CASP (MiCA)](/glossary/casp/) | MiCA's term for a firm authorised to provide crypto-asset services such as custody, trading platforms or exchange in the EU. |
| [Payment stablecoin (GENIUS Act)](/glossary/payment-stablecoin/) | The GENIUS Act's term for a digital asset used for payments that its issuer must redeem for a fixed monetary amount. |
| [Custody (custodial / self-custody)](/glossary/custody/) | Holding crypto-assets or their private keys for someone else; self-custody means the owner controls the keys. |
| [Gas fee (such as TRX or ETH)](/glossary/gas-fee/) | Working definition: the network fee for a transaction, paid in the chain's native coin, such as ETH on Ethereum or TRX on TRON. |
| [Deposit insurance](/glossary/deposit-insurance/) | Working definition: insurance of bank deposits up to a limit; the FDIC says it does not cover crypto assets. |
| [Issuer failure / insolvency](/glossary/issuer-failure/) | Working definition: a stablecoin issuer unable to meet its obligations; US and EU law set holder priority and redemption plans. |
| [Legacy Mesh](/glossary/legacy-mesh/) | USDT0's cross-chain route connecting native USDT on Ethereum, Tron, TON, Solana and Celo with USDT0 networks via a hub. |