one reason stables are so important is that people like to bet on one thing at a time.

they'll bet on crypto prices.

or they'll bet on all kinds of interesting things--elections, geopolitics, whether a piece is Good Art or a tweet is real.

but only in USD. very few will make both bets simultaneously.

The best (or worst) part about crypto before stables was that you could invest in altcoins that only had a BTC trading pair so you were effectively investing into both the altcoin and BTC at the same time.

And from what I remember very many people used to make both bets simultaneously (not as many as there are in crypto, but relatively speaking a lot did)

Community Builder. I'm wandering and wondering. Interested in decentralized, cool & creative stuff. Worked on a DAO for 5 years and looking for something new.

people already betting on crypto prices may be down to bet on additional crypto prices

people who want to bet on whether Tulsi Gabbard will be confirmed, want to do it in dollars