Article Author: Nathan Article Compilation: Block unicorn

As the influence and popularity of stablecoins continue to increase, its advantages are often discussed, including high efficiency, low cost, accessibility, decentralization and programmability.

Most of these advantages are easy to understand, but there is one exception: programmable currency.

Programmable currency is an abstract concept, which makes it difficult for many people to form a concrete understanding of it and to grasp its true meaning.

The importance of programmable currency is that it is the only way to provide critical financial services to billions of unbanked people. Programmable currencies are the only way to change these financial services economics, allowing developers and fintech companies to innovate in areas beyond the reach of traditional financial systems.

This article will explore some specific examples of programmable currency implementation and explain why it represents a significant breakthrough in the way global currency flows. From ultrasonic to programmable currencies

I recently posted a piece on Twitter that I want to explain:

Working in the cryptocurrency should make us all aware of the powerful influence of memes. Whether memes are real and meaningful, or false and empty, they can spread a concept in the group and play a major role.

The previous dominant meme about currency is Ethereum's "ultrasonic currency" concept.

For those who don't remember this concept, Ethereum's ultrasonic currency is an evolutionary form of "solid currency" that uses scarcity and incentive mechanisms to ensure that ETH, as a currency, can maintain value for the long term and resist supply inflation. The term “ultrasound” represents a modern and reliable wealth storage framework, and many members of the Ethereum community unite around the constant pursuit of this currency.

However, the commitment of ultrasonic currency ended up far from meeting expectations, resulting in a decline in credibility.

Nevertheless, using memes to describe a new form of currency has a strong influence. The next meme that represents currency innovation is programmable currency.

The beauty of programmable currency is that it targets a total potential market (TAM) far exceeds ultrasonic currency. This TAM is currency, not some kind of cryptocurrency.

I am serious. Their goal is to take over the currency.

There are huge amounts of currencies and a wide variety. I will directly quote Bridget’s recent wonderful content about the new thinking model for stablecoins.

The real dollar is an entry in the Fed's ledger. Currently, about 4500 entities (banks, credit unions, certain entities, etc.) have obtained these "real dollars" through the Fed's main account. None of these entities is native cryptocurrency-related unless you count Lead Bank and Column Bank, which serve specific crypto customers like Bridge. Entities with the main account can access Fedwire, an ultra-low-cost and almost instantaneous payment network that sends wire transfers 23 hours a day and basically enables instant settlement. The real dollar exists in M0: that is, the sum of all balances on the Fed's main ledger. The "fake" dollar (created by private banks through loans) belongs to M1, and its size is about 6 times that of M0.

Here, Bridget mentions the meaning of the M0 and M1 currency categories. The only important category associated with stablecoins is the supply of M2. The supply of M2 includes cash, bank deposits, and other liquid deposits that are easy to convert, is a key indicator of stablecoins. The difference between M1 and M2 is that M1 is a narrower category that includes only cash and bank deposits, while M2 adds savings accounts and other liquid assets close to cash.

Currently, stablecoins account for more than 1.08% of the US dollar M2 supply.

再次强调，货币种类繁多；而 Bridget 这里仅指美元。还有许多其他货币。估计全球流动性，即全球 M2，超过 90 万亿美元。

重申一遍，货币的 TAM 非常大。而稳定币的目标是接管这一市场。

针对最大可能市场的新模因是可编程货币。

可编程货币允许将复杂的规则硬编码到货币中。虽然货币是一种价值储存手段，但它的另一关键效用是其可移动性。稳定币因其可编程性，正在重新定义货币的流动方式。

稳定币是数字现金，主要是美元的代币化版本。其可编程性意味着软件可以规定这些资产在钱包之间转移的条件。就像程序或智能合约一样，这些关于货币如何移动的规则和参数是自主运行的。

允许金融交易根据预设规则自动执行和管理，使得支付、结算和合规性大幅提升效率。可编程性作为金融系统的一项重大升级和突破，使得现金最终实现数字化。

在全球范围内，可编程性的影响深远，特别是在发展中地区，稳定币能够满足汇款、微型金融和日常交易的关键需求。借助稳定币的可编程性，这些地区的人们能够使用这些服务，从而实现真正的金融包容。

为了简化可编程货币这一抽象概念，以下是几个实用案例。

Remittance

Imagine a system in which a smart contract is used to automatically convert the sender's local currency into a stablecoin and transfer it to the wallet of a foreign recipient. A smart contract triggers when the conditions are met, will release the stablecoin and convert it into fiat currency, and then transfer funds. This eliminates middlemen, reduces fees, and provides near-instant cross-border transactions.

Embed into parameters such as payment confirmation or threshold for a certain amount, highlighting programmabilityApplication.

Global Payroll System

Consider a salary solution for employees around the world using stablecoins. For example, imagine you live in a developer and work remotely for a U.S. company, but you don't have a U.S. bank account and the company doesn't use stablecoins. With a programmable salary system, you can invoice companies in fiat currency, which will automatically convert into stablecoins and send to your wallet.

Similar solutions also include releasing stablecoins to multiple wallets at planned time intervals. The stablecoin is exchanged into the recipient's currency only when payment is completed.

Micro-financial solutions

Small business owners have difficulty obtaining bank loans in many developing regions. The decentralized lending platform enables these people to use stablecoins as collateral for micro loans, and smart contracts manage collateral, issuance and repayment plans. Through the programmability of currency movement rules, previous barriers to accessing such services have been eliminated.

Supply Chain Financing

Supply Chain covers the entire process of a product from raw materials to the end consumer, including procurement, manufacturing and distribution. Programmability brings a major breakthrough, as smart contracts and blockchains are able to record information and automatically distribute stablecoins or cash based on the progress of the supply chain.

Taking the agricultural supply chain as an example, many farmers supply agricultural products to local cooperatives. Due to delays, poor communication and excessive reliance on traditional financial channels, it may take days to weeks for farmers to receive compensation. However, by using sensors and trusted verification to track transportation, once the product has been confirmed to arrive at its destination, the smart contract can immediately release stablecoin payments to the farmers.

Programmability is the core catalyst of innovation, allowing iterative improvements and gaining valuable lessons from experiments.

Cash is currently outdated in nature, and even its digital versions are limited in programmability. Although fintech and open banking have driven the development of these systems, they are still subject to the inherent limitations of traditional cash.

Programmability is an innate attribute of the digital age. No真正的可编程性，现金无法完全过渡到数字领域。因此，现在稳定币正在达到逃逸速度，我们正进入货币的第一个数字时代。

感谢可编程性。

总之，忘掉超声波货币吧，可编程货币已经到来。