Stablecoin Course

Lesson 1 • Defining Stablecoins

Defines stablecoins precisely and distinguishes them from volatile cryptocurrencies and central bank digital currencies. Builds shared terminology used throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Money, Value, and Digital Assets

Covers the functions of money and how digital assets attempt to fulfil them. Grounds stablecoin study in monetary theory before introducing crypto-specific concepts.

Lesson 3 • History and Market Evolution

Traces stablecoin development from early experiments to dominant market players. Provides historical context that explains current design choices and market structure.

Lesson 1 • Algorithmic Stablecoins

Covers supply-adjustment algorithms and seigniorage models that target price stability without direct collateral. Analyses historical failures and design vulnerabilities.

Lesson 2 • Fiat-Collateralised Stablecoins

Examines how fiat reserves back token issuance and maintain the peg. Introduces custodial risk, reserve auditing, and centralisation trade-offs.

Lesson 3 • Comparing Mechanism Trade-offs

Applies a structured framework to evaluate all four mechanisms across stability, decentralisation, and scalability. Prepares students to select appropriate designs for given contexts.

Lesson 4 • Hybrid and Fractional Models

Introduces designs that blend collateral and algorithmic elements to optimise stability and capital efficiency. Positions hybrid models within the broader design spectrum.

Lesson 1 • Recovery and Resilience Mechanisms

Reviews tools issuers and protocols use to restore the peg after a deviation. Evaluates the effectiveness and limitations of each recovery approach.

Lesson 2 • Price Peg Fundamentals

Defines what a peg is, how it is measured, and what constitutes acceptable deviation. Establishes the baseline metrics used throughout peg analysis.

Lesson 3 • Peg Failure Scenarios

Catalogues conditions that cause depeg events, from bank runs to oracle failures. Builds diagnostic skills for identifying systemic versus idiosyncratic risks.

Lesson 4 • Liquidity and Market Depth

Analyses how liquidity pool depth and trading volume affect peg resilience. Introduces liquidity provisioning strategies used by issuers and protocols.

Lesson 1 • Reserve Composition Principles

Examines what assets qualify as high-quality reserves and why composition matters for stability. Introduces the liquidity, credit, and market risk dimensions of reserve assets.

Lesson 2 • Collateral Valuation Methods

Covers mark-to-market, haircut, and fair-value approaches for valuing reserve assets. Connects valuation accuracy to solvency and peg integrity.

Lesson 3 • Stress Testing Reserves

Applies scenario analysis and historical shock data to test reserve adequacy. Builds practical skills for identifying vulnerabilities before they become crises.

Lesson 4 • Liquidation Mechanisms

Details on-chain and off-chain liquidation processes triggered by collateral shortfalls. Analyses how liquidation design affects user behaviour and systemic stability.

Lesson 1 • Decentralised Autonomous Organisations

Covers token-weighted voting and proposal systems used in protocol governance. Analyses how DAOs balance community input with operational speed.

Lesson 2 • Parameter Governance and Risk Management

Focuses on governance decisions that directly affect stability: collateral ratios, fees, and liquidation thresholds. Links parameter choices to peg resilience outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Centralised Governance Structures

Examines issuer-controlled governance where a single entity sets policy and manages reserves. Identifies efficiency advantages and single-point-of-failure risks.

Lesson 1 • Licensing and Authorisation Frameworks

Surveys the licensing pathways available to stablecoin issuers across major regulatory regimes. Prepares students to evaluate licensing strategy for new issuance projects.

Lesson 2 • Emerging Global Regulatory Trends

Tracks convergence and divergence in stablecoin regulation across major financial centres. Equips students to anticipate regulatory change and adapt compliance programmes.

Lesson 3 • Anti-Money Laundering Requirements

Covers customer due diligence, transaction monitoring, and suspicious activity reporting for stablecoin issuers. Connects AML obligations to operational design choices.

Lesson 4 • Reserve and Disclosure Requirements

Details regulatory expectations for reserve composition, segregation, and public disclosure. Aligns reserve management practices with compliance obligations.

Lesson 1 • Smart Contract Risk in DeFi

Identifies smart contract vulnerabilities that threaten stablecoin positions in DeFi. Introduces audit frameworks and risk mitigation tools available to users.

Lesson 2 • Stablecoins as DeFi Infrastructure

Explains the foundational role stablecoins play in lending, trading, and liquidity protocols. Establishes why stablecoin quality directly affects DeFi system health.

Lesson 3 • Yield Generation Strategies

Covers lending, liquidity provision, and yield aggregation strategies using stablecoins. Quantifies return sources and associated risk factors for each strategy.

Lesson 4 • Composability and Systemic Risk

Examines how DeFi composability amplifies both opportunity and contagion risk for stablecoins. Builds systemic risk awareness essential for advanced DeFi participation.

Lesson 1 • Defining Product Requirements

Guides students through translating business objectives into stablecoin product specifications. Connects use case, target user, and regulatory context to design choices.

Lesson 2 • Evaluating and Iterating the Product

Introduces frameworks for post-launch evaluation and iterative product improvement. Prepares students to adapt their stablecoin design in response to market and regulatory feedback.

Lesson 3 • Ongoing Risk Management Operations

Establishes operational risk management processes for a live stablecoin product. Covers monitoring, incident response, and continuous improvement cycles.

Lesson 4 • Go-to-Market and Liquidity Strategy

Covers bootstrapping liquidity, incentive design, and partnership strategies for new stablecoin launches. Addresses the cold-start problem and adoption curve management.