What Is Tether (USDT)? The Stablecoin That Runs Crypto
Tether is the largest stablecoin and one of the most important — and controversial — entities in crypto.
Topic
DeFi: News, Guides and Analysis
Decentralized Finance covered carefully — what works, what does not, where the real risks are, and how to participate without getting hurt.
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) is the most-developed application category in crypto today. Hundreds of billions of dollars flow through DeFi protocols every month, settling trades, generating yield, and replacing functions that traditionally required banks and brokers.
DeFi is also one of the highest-risk corners of the industry. Smart contract bugs, oracle failures, governance attacks, and stablecoin de-pegs have all destroyed user funds at scale. Participating safely requires understanding both what is possible and what can go wrong.
Our DeFi coverage focuses on what is actually durable in the space and how to engage with it as a user rather than a speculator. Start with our DeFi primer if you are new.
Articles in this topic
Crypto Portfolio Allocation: How Much Should You Hold?
How much of your portfolio belongs in crypto, how to split it, and how to think about risk.
Understanding DeFi: A Beginner's Guide to Decentralized Finance
DeFi promises to rebuild the financial system on open, permissionless rails. Here is what it actually is, what it can and cannot do, and what the real risks look like.
Smart Contracts Explained: What They Are and Why They Matter
Smart contracts are the foundation of every blockchain application that is not just transferring money. Here is what they actually are and how they work.
Crypto Staking: How to Earn Yield Safely
Staking lets you earn yield by helping secure a Proof of Stake blockchain. Here is how it works, what the real risks are, and how to do it without getting burned.
Stablecoins Explained: USDC, USDT, and How They Work
Stablecoins move more value than Visa on a busy day. Here is what they are, how they stay pegged to the dollar, and what can go wrong.
The Real-World Asset Thesis: Tokenizing Treasuries On-Chain
Bringing traditional financial instruments onto blockchains is one of the fastest-growing trends in crypto. Here is what is actually happening and why it matters.
How to Evaluate a Crypto Project: A Due Diligence Checklist
Most new cryptocurrencies fail. Most that succeed are predictable in advance to careful observers. Here are the questions to ask before you buy anything beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum.
What Is Ethereum? A Plain-English Explanation
Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency and the foundation for most of DeFi, NFTs, and stablecoins. Here is what it is, what makes it different from Bitcoin, and why it matters.
Layer 2 Networks Compared: Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and Polygon
Most Ethereum activity now happens on Layer 2s rather than the base layer. Here is how the leading networks differ in design, security model, and ecosystem.
Reading On-Chain Data: A Practical Primer
On-chain analytics promise unique insight into crypto markets. Here is what they actually measure, what they tell you reliably, and where the popular metrics oversell their conclusions.
DAOs Explained: How Decentralized Organizations Actually Work
DAOs were supposed to revolutionize how groups coordinate. Here is what they really are, what they have proven good at, and where they have run into problems.
Common Crypto Scams and How to Avoid Them
The scams that cost retail crypto users the most money — recognized by the patterns rather than the specific names, because the names change but the patterns don't.
Ready to put theory into practice?
Open an account with Kraken — one of the longest-running, most regulated crypto exchanges in the world. Sponsored.