Brian Armstrong has mentioned the concept of Flatcoin multiple times. In a recent interview with Yahoo Finance, he emphasized the importance of Flatcoin and stated that it is the next important development direction for stablecoins, closely related to CPI (Consumer Price Index) or purchasing power.

Not long ago, Brian Armstrong listed his top ten cryptocurrency directions on Twitter, with Flatcoin unsurprisingly ranking first. At the same time, the Base Foundation announced its support for four major directions, with Flatcoin being the first mentioned concept.

So, what is Flatcoin? What are its prospects? Are there any projects that have already been implemented in practice? How far away is it from real-world applications?

The Concept of Flatcoin

Flatcoin is different from traditional stablecoins, which are usually pegged 1:1 to fiat currencies like the US dollar. Flatcoin anchors to the abstract concept of "cost of living," which is a more practical and pragmatic way to maintain price stability.

The goal of Flatcoin is to resist inflation and ensure that holders' value does not depreciate due to inflation of fiat currencies. To achieve this goal, Flatcoin optimizes the stability of prices based on different data, such as CPI or cost of living index, to ensure that holders' purchasing power matches the changes in cost of living.

For example, let's say a Flatcoin project anchors its currency to a basket of goods, including essential necessities such as food, energy, housing, and transportation. When the prices of these goods change, the price of Flatcoin will also adjust accordingly to maintain a stable relationship with the cost of living. If the overall prices of the goods in the basket increase, the price of Flatcoin will also rise accordingly to offset the impact of inflation.

By anchoring to the cost of living, Flatcoin provides a more comprehensive and inflation-resistant way to maintain price stability."

Why is Coinbase Obsessed with Flatcoin?

Coinbase expresses its enthusiasm for Flatcoin in the Mirror article, believing that Flatcoin, in decentralized stablecoin designs, is a well-considered choice. Flatcoin not only has stability in purchasing power, but also shows resilience in the face of uncertainty in traditional financial systems. Coinbase also believes that not only fiat currencies can be anchor points, but other forms of Flatcoin can fill the gap between fiat-pegged coins and volatile crypto assets.

Although Balaji has left Coinbase, Coinbase still maintains recognition of Flatcoin and earlier announced that Flatcoin is included in the four directions supported by the Base Ecosystem Fund. Among the recently announced six initial investment projects, projects like Truflation will serve as data feeders for Flatcoin projects like Nuon. Brian Armstrong also mentioned in a recent interview that although Coinbase has not entered this field yet, they are very interested in researching Flatcoin.

Flagship Project - Nuon Finance

The Flatcoin track is currently in a blue ocean market, and Nuon Finance is one of the representative projects. It claims to be the "world's first truly decentralized Flatcoin," with daily inflation rates being fed by Truflation. Truflation updates and tracks price data for the entire economy on a daily basis, using multiple data sources and millions of data points.

The price of Nuon Flatcoin is softly pegged to the current value of a basket of commodities, including a wide range of tangible goods and essential services such as food, daily necessities, entertainment, tobacco and alcohol, clothing, housing, transportation, utilities, health, communication, and education. The Nuon protocol usesDegree mortgages and arbitrage are used to maintain a price peg and offset inflation for holders. The Nuon agreement has designed four participation methods, including casters, buyers, arbitragers, and governance token holders, each with different incentive mechanisms and objectives, providing users with diverse ways to participate. Through unique algorithms and mechanisms, Nuon Flatcoin brings new choices to the stablecoin field by achieving price anchoring and resisting market fluctuations. Conclusion: The Flatcoin concept provides a new way to counter inflation, and Coinbase is eagerly anticipating it. In the current backdrop of global inflation, traditional stablecoins pegged to fiat currencies, especially the US dollar, face risks. As a result, Flatcoin's emergence has attracted attention. Whether Coinbase can realize its expectations for Flatcoin, promote it, and its relationship with traditional stablecoins are questions that still need time to answer. The ultimate fate of Flatcoin remains to be seen.