The basic problem of all stablecoins can be broken down into two parts: How do you define your stability target? How do you achieve your stability target? Defining Stability (Traditional): Level Targeting Most stablecoins assume the existence of an external unit of account (i.e., the dollar) and define stability as having a stable value with…

This post is a follow-up to my post on Kin Egoism. Consider the following analogy: Altruism is like debt and Egoism is like equity. First, what are debt and equity? For a company, debts are obligations to (typically) external entities (i.e., who the company owes). On the other hand, equity…

Icewater has undertaken the challenge of developing a stable cryptocurrency that does not rely on external (i.e., non-crypto) assets and oracles to achieve stability. This is a challenging goal, and we have made a lot of progress. The following model achieves stability using four tokens: H2O — a stable token …

The object of this post is to introduce something called Kin Egoism. But first, lets discuss Egoism and Altruism. Egoism and Altruism are two important philosophical traditions that have guided the development of moral theory. At the risk of oversimplifying things, let’s define them as: Egoism: you should do what…

What’s up with the Icewater protocol recently? We have made some big changes in the last six months, including: Removing dependency of the protocol on Steam, and Adding ETH as collateral But first, a quick overview of what makes Icewater special. A Decentralized Stablecoin Most stablecoins measure stability by asking an external oracle…

Do you recall how in Pride and Prejudice they are always measuring how wealthy men are in terms of an annual rate? [H]is estate there is a noble one. A clear ten thousand per annum. — Mr. Wickham commenting on Mr. Darcy Consider two ways to measure monetary status: total…

Icewater is building the world’s most decentralized stablecoin. This paper will describe why and how. It proceeds in four parts: Decentralization is important Stablecoins are important Stablecoins are not decentralized Decentralized stablecoins are possible Decentralization A new global commons is emerging based on blockchain technology. On the blockchain, people can build…

I recently saw the following tweet: This is a real problem, so let’s talk about it. ICE First, let me describe how ICE works. ICE is like a debt instrument that is part of the icewater stablecoin model. The icewater protocol includes a controller that can adjust the supply of…

How can the decentralized blockchain help solve a collective action problem? Two options that have been considered are known as ragequit and assurance contacts. How to they compare? Prisoner’s Dilemma To begin, let me introduce one of the most famous problems in game theory: the prisoner’s dilemma. In this hypothetical problem, two…