User:Lysalana/sandbox

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Anchor (/ˈæŋkər/; Anchor Token; ANCT;) is a stablecoin cryptocurrency pegged to an algorithmic financial index called the Monetary Measurement Unit (MMU), which claims to represent the real growth trend of the global economy. Anchor states that its main objective is to offer long-term price stability, protection against inflation, and can be used as a tool to hedge against daily daily hedge against market fluctuations. Anchor Token should not be confused with Anchor Coin, a different stablecoin that is backed by the Canadian dollar; or AnchorUSD, another stable currency backed by the US dollar.)

Anchor’s describes their tokenomics, the mechanism that configures the use and regulates the supply of their currency in circulation, as reliant on three pillars of stabilizing architecture including:

  1. Monetary Measurement Unit (MMU);
  2. Two-Token Model; and
  3. A Decentralized Governing Body of Validators.

Combined, these three pillars are stated to be designed to prevent volatility and fluctuation within the Anchor system by mediating price deviation and mitigating risks associated with supply and demand.

History[edit]

Financial services company, Anchor AG, based in Zug, Switzerland, officially began the Anchor project in March 2018. The Anchor stablecoin (ANCT) officially launched and was listed on Tokyo-based exchange, Liquid on August 26, 2019[1]. Anchor stablecoin and the MMU were conceived by serial telecommunications and software entrepreneur, Daniel Popa in July 2014 with the writings of his original whitepaper and business plan. In March 2018, Popa hired a team of PhD economists and blockchain developers to work on the algorithms for the MMU and the Anchor stablecoin, as well as the system’s underlying blockchain technology. In September 2018, the official whitepaper was published and has had several renditions since.

In April 2019, the project launched its testnet[2] allowing users to trial its interface and trade pseudo Anchor tokens. In May 2019, Anchor launched its MMU Simulator, enabling users to select a start-date and an end-date to graph the MMU's value over the course of the selected time period and observe the trendline in daily and weekly increments, comparing the MMU value paired against 19 major fiat currencies.

On August 20, 2019, Anchor released a beta of its cryptocurrency wallet[3] in advance of the ANCT token being listed on Liquid Exchange. Anchor did not conduct an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) and launched directly on the crypto exchange with a Token Generation Event (TGE).

Anchor has 25 team members globally working on the project.

The Value Peg[edit]

Anchor’s whitepaper states the Monetary Measurement Unit (MMU) is indexed to the real growth of the global economy. Anchor's argument is that data from the World Bank shows that since 1960, global GDP has expanded from $1.3trn to $80.7trn[4], while world economic growth has increased at an average rate of 2.5% annually for the past 25 years despite market fluctuations within each country. Anchor's MMU team thus asserts that such an index provides a reliable measure for value.

The whitepaper goes on to say that by developing an algorithmic financial index based on global GDP, Anchor is aiming to create the first reliable financial standard and measure of value since the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The whitepaper posits that SDR is exclusive only to IMF member countries and based on a basket of five currencies, and claims the MMU is decentralized, inclusive, and based on a dynamic basket currently containing eight currencies, as of 2019.

According to the Anchor whitepaper, the MMU is a unit of monetary measurement based on a variety of macroeconomic factors, such as the GDP of more than 190 countries taking into account the last 25 years, foreign exchange (FX) indicators from a basket of eight currencies, and premium sovereign bond yields from 10 of the world’s strongest economies.

The MMU’s algorithm is stated to use inputs from leading world currencies and major bond-market yields, the most important input being GDP movements from 190 countries, using data sourced from institutions or companies such as the World Bank and Bloomberg. According to Anchor's whitepaper, the MMU is an objective and non-flationary currency value peg, and is resilient to market or political conditions, regardless of their severity, which cause fiat currencies to fluctuate or depreciate.

Two-Token System[edit]

According to the official whitepaper, Anchor utilizes a two-token model that consists of Anchor Tokens, which are the main currency units of Anchor, and Dock Tokens (DOCT), which keep Anchor pegged to its financial index, the Monetary Measurement Unit (MMU), maintaining a stable price. The whitepaper goes on to says that DOCT cannot be used as a means of payment or transferred from one token holder to another, and can only be exchanged during Contraction and Expansion phases. These two phases are described to be at the core of Anchor’s mechanism for elastic currency supply, through which Anchor’s system will programmatically buy and sell, as well as burn and mint tokens in order to maintain the Anchor Token's (ANCT) price in equilibrium with the MMU.

Regulation[edit]

Anchor, AG is incorporated in Zug, Switzerland. Currently, Anchor has reported that it has received a response from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).