A stablecoin represents value on a blockchain or similar ledger while attempting to track a reference such as the US dollar. Issuers or protocols use reserves, collateral or other mechanisms to support that target value and enable digital transfers.
Stablecoins can support programmable payments and treasury movement for software systems, including agentic commerce. They still carry risks involving reserves, redemption, regulation, technical security and loss of the intended price peg, so the word stable is not a guarantee.
