Fervent proponents of cryptocurrencies and the blockchains they run on have promised a lot. To them, these technologies represent salvation from corporate power over the internet, government intrusions on liberty, poverty and virtually everything else that ails society.

Stablecoins are a type of cryptocurrency linked to an asset like the U.S. dollar that doesn’t change much in value.

Nonfungible tokens prove ownership of a digital item – image, sound file or text – in the same way that people own crypto coins.

With the price of a bitcoin reaching record highs of more than $10,000, more and more ordinary people consider investing in the cryptocurrency. The recent price surge, however, comes with tremendous risks.

The 21st-century revolutionaries who have dominated cryptocurrencies are having to move over. Mainstream financial institutions are adopting these assets and the blockchain technology that enables them, in what is perhaps the most profound development since the birth of cryptocurrencies through the launch of bitcoin a decade ago.

Bitcoin has plunged from a high of almost US$20,000 in December 2017 to as low as US$3,675. So it’s understandable that some cryptocurrency users might be looking for more stability.