Understanding Stablecoin Technology and Related Security Considerations: NIST Publishes IR 8408
September 05, 2023

NIST has published Internal Report (IR) 8408, Understanding Stablecoin Technology and Related Security Considerations. Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency that aim to maintain a stable price relative to a specified asset (usually a fiat currency). Much has been written about how to use stablecoins and about the economic implications of doing so, specifically price variability. However, little has been written on the technical mechanisms and architectures used or related security considerations.

NIST IR 8408 evaluates the technical designs of different stablecoin architectures and discusses related security analyses. This publication:

• Describes and defines stablecoins from a technical perspective
• Identifies four common properties of most stablecoins
• Identifies 11 characteristics that represent features of differentiation between stablecoins
• Provides a taxonomy of six common stablecoin types
• Evaluates the needed properties of security, stability, and trust
• Identifies 18 potential issues in stablecoin implementations