Opinion by: William Campbell, advisory lead at USDKG

Stablecoins were heralded as a breakthrough in the cryptocurrency space as a way to marry the lightning-fast, borderless nature of digital assets with the stability of traditional currencies. They achieve this by pegging their value to reserves like fiat currencies or commodities. Stablecoins are engineered to maintain a fixed exchange rate, typically one-to-one, with the underlying asset.

What does “stability” mean? At its core, stability demands three pillars:

• Reliable collateral: The tangible assets that back the token.

• Transparency: The ability for anyone to independently verify reserves.

• Consistent peg maintenance: Robust safeguards against depegging, where a stablecoin’s market value strays from its fixed ratio with the underlying asset.

Without these foundational elements, stablecoins are little more than speculative instruments masquerading as safe harbors. In 2022 alone, billions in value evaporated when supposedly “secure” stablecoins lost their pegs, meaning their market prices diverged significantly from their intended 1:1 ratio with an underlying asset — prompting an unsettling question: Can digital assets ever be genuinely stable without demonstrable and independently audited backing?

The need for reliable asset-backed models

Recent market events have exposed severe fundamental weaknesses in privately issued stablecoins. These tokens often rely on opaque mechanisms, inadequate audit practices or collateral that investors cannot independently verify.

These shortcomings repeatedly led to sudden “depegging” events, such as the collapse of Iron Finance’s TITAN token in 2021. The overleveraged algorithmic system collapsed to near zero, wiping out billions in liquidity.

TerraUSD’s meltdown in 2022 also highlighted a similar vulnerability, with the stablecoin’s value disintegrating quickly, intensifying doubts about algorithmic models lacking transparent reserves.

Meanwhile, partially collateralized and so-called “fully audited” stablecoins have faced scrutiny for inconsistent disclosure practices. Even well-known issuers must constantly prove their reserves are sufficient and legitimate.

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These issues primarily stem from insufficient oversight and ambiguous collateral management practices by private issuers. Investors typically have limited means to independently verify reserves, fueling persistent doubts about whether the stated backing genuinely exists or whether tokens are properly collateralized.

Only models with tangible asset support and verifiably documented reserves can genuinely deliver the stability that digital assets promise. Through transparent frameworks, we can rebuild trust and usher in a new era of reliable digital finance. These events underscore a universal truth: True stability is forged through auditable oversight and verifiable reserves, not hollow branding.

Gold is a timeless anchor 

Gold has served as humanity’s ultimate store of value for millennia, preserving wealth through wars, economic collapses and pandemics. Its scarcity, intrinsic worth and universal acceptance have made it a refuge when institutions falter — evidenced by its 25% surge during the 2020 market crash as investors fled volatile assets.

Gold’s value transcends borders and ideologies, resting on tangible scarcity rather than hollow promises. For example, while the US dollar has lost 96.8% of its purchasing power since 1913, gold has consistently preserved and even grown its purchasing power. This track record positions it as an ideal anchor for digital assets seeking stability in a volatile crypto landscape.

Critics of gold might point to its storage and custodial costs, along with the logistical challenges of physically moving bullion. Modern vaulting solutions and robust insurance measures have, however, largely mitigated these concerns, particularly when combined with blockchain-based audit mechanisms.

Gold-backed stablecoins capitalize on this timeless reliability, pairing physical gold’s enduring value with blockchain’s efficiency. By linking digital tokens directly to physical gold, they sidestep the speculative risks of cryptocurrencies and the inflationary pitfalls of government-issued money. 

Blockchain-enabled gold tokenization

Blockchain technology removes the traditional obstacles to gold ownership by enabling fractional digital ownership and global trading without intermediaries. 

Physical gold stored in regulated vaults is digitized into tokens, each representing a precise fraction of the underlying asset. Every transaction is immutably recorded on a decentralized ledger, enabling investors to continuously check reserves in real time through automated smart contracts.

This system overcomes gold’s historic limitations, including illiquidity and high storage costs, while eliminating the opacity of traditional reserve management. Merging gold’s tangible security with blockchain’s immutable record-keeping, the system also engineers trust directly into the architecture.

This approach creates a stablecoin model unlike any other, where verifiable backing is the system’s backbone, not merely promised on paper.

Creating stablecoins that truly deliver stability

Gold-backed stablecoins merge blockchain’s inherent accountability with gold’s stability, establishing a new class of digital assets resistant to volatility. Anchoring digital tokens to gold’s intrinsic value, this model sidesteps the volatility of speculative cryptocurrencies and the inflationary risks of government-issued currencies. 

The result is a stablecoin engineered for trust, where stability isn’t promised by code or institutions — it’s bolstered by tangible scarcity and blockchain’s unyielding transparency.

Trust as a cornerstone

The primary challenge facing stablecoins is establishing user trust. This trust can’t be built solely on a company’s reputation. It must be earned through independently verifiable collateral, real-time audits and clear regulatory oversight.

Innovative hybrid models showcase this approach effectively. The government strictly regulates and audits the gold reserves in a hybrid model to maintain verifiable 1:1 backing. The private entities handle token issuance, trading and compliance processes, carefully separating state verification of collateral from private management of operational functions.

This public-private partnership ensures rigorous oversight without creating a central bank digital currency. As they divide responsibilities, the model establishes a system where the government guarantees authenticity and collateral integrity while private enterprises handle operational efficiency, ensuring a balanced and decentralized yet trustworthy environment.

Toward a more trustworthy digital financial ecosystem

Genuine stability in digital finance emerges not from marketing slogans but from transparent mechanisms and verifiable collateral.

The future of digital finance lies in combining blockchain’s revolutionary transparency with the historically proven stability of gold, especially under government auditing and privately managed structures. As more asset-backed solutions emerge, institutions, regulators and everyday users will adopt stablecoins that transparently deliver on their stability promises.

This evolution marks a pivotal shift. Investors will no longer accept vague assurances. Investors demand concrete stability. Gold-backed stablecoins, blending ancient reliability with blockchain innovation, will lead the next generation of digital financial instruments, ensuring stablecoins fulfill their original promise — stability without compromise.

Opinion by: William Campbell, advisory lead at USDKG.

This article is for general information purposes and is not intended to be and should not be taken as legal or investment advice. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

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While crypto and stock markets are deep in the red this week, one memecoin is defying the trend and surging at the time of writing. 

Fartcoin (FARTCOIN) has surged a whopping 30% over the past 24 hours, topping $0.60 on April 8, according to CoinGecko. 

On April 7, the Solana-based memecoin hit a low of $0.42 amid the broader crypto market slump, which saw Bitcoin (BTC) prices fall below $75,000 to a five-month low. 

However, since then the token has gained more than 40% and is one of the crypto market’s top performers at the moment. 

Crypto trader “RookieXBT” told their 484,000 followers that Fartcoin volume was increasing “while the world falls apart,” adding, “No other coin is doing this.” 

The financial parody account “Not Jerome Powell” quipped, “hot air rises,” noting that every asset was down aside from Fartcoin.  

Stock markets across the globe slumped on April 7 in reaction to Donald Trump’s sweeping trade tariffs. 

The Fartcoin token, which launched in October with no utility, has defied the markets several times before by bouncing upward when other assets have tanked.   

Bitcoin dumped 6% on April 3 in a fall from above $87,000 to around $81,500. Fartcoin was one of the first to recover, surging 36% the following day. 

Additionally, the token saw its market capitalization top $1 billion in December during a wider slump for altcoins. 

It hit an all-time high of $2.48 during the peak of the memecoin frenzy in mid-January. However, it has since retreated 76% from those levels as the memecoin bubble burst. 

Other memecoins also bounce upward

A related Solana memecoin based on a comic book character called Fartboy (FARTBOY) is also surging, having gained 60% to top $0.03 on April 8, according to CoinGecko. 

However, this memecoin is also down 85% from its mid-February peak. 

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Other memecoins outperforming the wider crypto market at the moment include SPX6900 (SPX), which is up 11.5%; Cheems Token (CHEEMS), which has gained 10.5%; AI Companions (AIC), currently up 10%; and Mog Coin (MOG), which has surged 33% on the day. 

Even the memecoin stalwarts Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) have outperformed Bitcoin over the past 24 hours. 

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Authorities in Spain have arrested six people who helped operate a global AI-powered investment scam that stole over $20 million from at least 208 victims. 

The scammers would swindle victims up to three times. After stealing an initial sum through the investment scam, the fraudsters contacted victims twice more, masquerading as investment managers and then as authorities, offering to recover the stolen funds for a fee, Spanish police said in an April 7 statement. 

The scammers used deepfake ads of “national personalities” promising high returns on crypto investments, and would occasionally pose as financial advisers or even feign romantic interest to lure in victims.  

Experts have been warning of a rise in AI-enhanced scams. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in its Feb. 13 Crypto Scam Revenue 2024 report that generative AI is making “scams more scalable and affordable for bad actors to conduct.”

🚩Detenidas seis personas por estafar más de 19 millones de euros usando #inteligenciaartificial

🔴Engañaban a las víctimas a través de anuncios manipulados con #IA para que realizaran inversiones con #criptomonedas en productos supuestamente muy rentables pic.twitter.com/rMrdgBpOYz

— Policía Nacional (@policia) April 7, 2025

“Victims were not selected randomly; instead, algorithms selected those whose profiles matched the cybercriminals’ searches,” Spanish police said.

“Once they selected their victims, they placed advertising campaigns on the websites or social networks they used, offering them cryptocurrency investments with high returns and zero risk of asset loss — investments that, obviously, turned out to be a scam.” 

When victims could not withdraw the funds, most realized it was a scam, according to Spanish police; however, the ruse didn’t end there. 

Scammers would trick victims again with follow-up scams

The cybercriminals would then contact victims again, posing as investment managers, claiming the stolen funds were frozen and could be recovered if they paid a deposit. 

“The victims, hoping to finally recover their money, made the deposit without realizing they had been scammed again,” Spanish police said.

The scammers would then contact victims a third time, this time posing as Europol agents or lawyers from the United Kingdom, offering to return the stolen funds if the victim paid the corresponding taxes in the country where it was blocked.

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Spanish authorities arrested six people involved in the syndicate, charging them with fraud, money laundering and falsifying documents in a criminal organization. 

During a raid on the alleged leader behind the scam, Spanish authorities seized numerous cell phones, computers, hard drives, a simulated weapon and extensive documentation. 

Several people linked to the plot have also been identified in other countries, and the syndicate allegedly created a large number of fake companies to channel the stolen funds.  

“Furthermore, the members of the organization used multiple false identities. In the case of the leader, for example, he used more than 50 different identities,” Spanish police said.

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