Stablecoin Watch
Every major dollar stablecoin in one place: live market caps, how close each one trades to $1, what backs it, its depeg history — and how much purchasing power it has lost to inflation since launch. Tracked by the unstablecoin screener, because every unstablecoin starts as an argument with a stablecoin.
Stablecoins by market cap
| # | Stablecoin | Type | Market cap | Price | vs $1 | Lost to inflation | Launched | Chains |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TetherUSDT | Fiat-backed | $184.29B | $0.9997 | -0.03% | −29% | October 2014 | 130 |
| 2 | USD CoinUSDC | Fiat-backed | $74.21B | $0.9998 | -0.02% | −25% | September 2018 | 157 |
| 3 | Sky DollarUSDS | Crypto-collateralized | $7.11B | $0.9994 | -0.06% | −6% | September 2024 | 7 |
| 4 | Ethena USDeUSDe | Synthetic dollar | $4.93B | $0.9995 | -0.05% | −7% | February 2024 | 31 |
| 5 | DaiDAI | Crypto-collateralized | $4.77B | $0.9999 | -0.01% | −26% | December 2017 | 49 |
| 6 | World Liberty Financial USDUSD1 | Fiat-backed | $4.44B | $0.9992 | -0.08% | −4% | March 2025 | 8 |
| 8 | PayPal USDPYUSD | Fiat-backed | $2.86B | $0.9996 | -0.04% | −8% | August 2023 | 19 |
| 29 | First Digital USDFDUSD | Fiat-backed | $324.39M | $0.9983 | -0.17% | −9% | June 2023 | 6 |
Stablecoin supply over time
Total dollar stablecoins in circulation. Every one of them is a claim on a currency that loses value every year.
Stablecoin inflation calculator
Stablecoins protect you from crypto volatility, not from the dollar losing value. Pick a stablecoin or a date and see what a "stable" dollar buys today.
$1,000.00 held since October 2014 buys what $710.59 bought back then.
29% of its purchasing power lost to inflation.
Based on the US consumer price index (CPI-U, seasonally adjusted, via FRED), latest month available: August 2026. Dollar stablecoins track the dollar, so they lose value exactly like it.
Three ways to build a dollar
Fiat-backed
A company holds cash and short-term government debt and issues one token per dollar of reserves. Simple and liquid, but you are trusting the issuer, its banks and its reports. USDT, USDC, PYUSD, FDUSD and USD1 work this way.
Crypto-collateralized
Users lock more crypto than the dollars they mint, all verifiable onchain. No single company holds the money, but sharp crashes, smart-contract bugs and centralized collateral are the risks. DAI and USDS belong here.
Synthetic dollar
Crypto collateral hedged with short derivatives so the position stays near $1, often paying a yield. The risks shift to exchanges, custodians and funding rates. Ethena's USDe is the largest example.
The rules are catching up
In the United States, the GENIUS Act, signed in July 2025, created the first federal framework for payment stablecoins: reserves of at least 1:1 in cash, bank deposits and short-term Treasuries, monthly public disclosure of those reserves, and no interest paid by issuers to holders. It takes effect 18 months after enactment or 120 days after regulators publish final rules, whichever comes first.
In the European Union, MiCA has governed stablecoins since June 2024, and its transition period ended on July 1, 2026. Only authorized issuers can be offered on regulated EU platforms, which is why USDC is widely available to Europeans while USDT has been restricted.
Regulation makes the peg safer. It doesn't change what the peg is tied to: a dollar that loses purchasing power every year.
Stablecoin FAQ
What is a stablecoin?
A stablecoin is a crypto token designed to always be worth the same as a traditional currency, almost always the US dollar. Issuers keep it at $1 with reserves of cash and government debt, with crypto collateral locked in smart contracts, or with hedged derivatives positions. Stablecoins are the main way money moves around crypto: they are used for trading, payments, savings in countries with weak currencies, and cross-border transfers.
What is the biggest stablecoin?
Tether (USDT) is currently the largest stablecoin, with a market cap of about $184.29B. Together, USDT and USDC make up around 82% of all dollar stablecoins. The table above ranks every stablecoin we track, live.
Are stablecoins safe?
Safer than most crypto assets, but not risk-free. A fiat-backed stablecoin is only as safe as its issuer, its reserves and the banks that hold them; a crypto-collateralized one depends on smart contracts and collateral prices; a synthetic dollar depends on derivatives markets. Check what backs a stablecoin and how often its reserves are reported — each stablecoin page here covers both.
Can a stablecoin lose its peg?
Yes. TerraUSD collapsed completely in 2022, USDC fell to about $0.87 when Silicon Valley Bank failed in 2023, and smaller stablecoins have broken for good. Most major stablecoins have recovered from their depegs, but every one of them has been tested. Read a short history of stablecoin depegs.
Do stablecoins lose value over time?
Against the dollar, no — that is the point. Against what money actually buys, yes: a stablecoin tracks the dollar one-to-one, including its inflation. One USDT from Tether's launch in 2014 buys about 29% less today. That erosion is exactly what currency debasement means.
Do stablecoins pay interest?
Issuers earn interest on the Treasuries backing their tokens, but under the GENIUS Act regulated US issuers may not pay interest to holders. Some tokens offer yield through separate products — for example, depositing USDS in the Sky Savings Rate or staking USDe as sUSDe — which carry their own risks.
What is the difference between a stablecoin and an unstablecoin?
A stablecoin promises to always be worth $1 and inherits the dollar's inflation. An unstablecoin makes no promise at all: no peg, usually a fixed or shrinking supply, and volatility by design. See the full comparison in stablecoin vs unstablecoin.
What if you didn't want a peg?
Stablecoins copy the dollar — inflation included. Unstablecoins take the opposite bet: no peg, a fixed or shrinking supply and volatility on the label. See them in the live unstablecoin rankings.