Assets and chains
stablecoin
A stablecoin is a token designed to track a reference asset, usually a fiat currency. Agent GDP is denominated in dollars by pricing a short list of dollar stablecoins at one-to-one. USDC is the asset on the x402 chains. Tempo session settlements can also be pathUSD, OUSD, USDC.e, or USDT0.
Explanation
The peg is a measurement rule, not a claim that the token traded at a dollar in every block. The index does not query a price oracle. If a transfer's token is not on the list, the transfer is skipped. That undercounts novel assets on purpose. Inventing a price would put a number in the total that the chain log does not support.
Stablecoin settlement is why these protocols can move cents and fractions of a cent without a card network. It is also why the public log is an ERC-20 or Token-2022 style transfer, or a Tempo escrow event, rather than a card capture. Card payments under ACP, Visa, or Mastercard agent products are stable in the dollar too, and they are still outside the total because the capture is not a public chain log.
Live data
Related terms
Sources
- USDC contract addresses — Circle
- Tempo quote tokens — Tempo
- Agent GDP methodology — Agent GDP