USDC vs PYUSD
USD Coin (USDC) and PayPal USD (PYUSD) are both dollar stablecoins, but they are built very differently. Here is how they compare on live data and on what actually matters for safety.
| USD Coin (USDC) | PayPal USD (PYUSD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Circle | Paxos, for PayPal |
| Type | Fiat-backed | Fiat-backed |
| Backing | Cash and short-term US Treasuries, mostly in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund | US dollar deposits, short-term Treasuries and cash equivalents held by Paxos |
| Launched | September 2018 | August 2023 |
| Market cap | $74.16B | $2.89B |
| Price | $0.9999 | $1.0000 |
| Distance from $1 | -0.01% | 0.00% |
| Chains | 157 | 19 |
| Worst recorded depeg | $0.8700 (Mar 2023) | None significant |
| Lost to inflation | −25% | −8% |
| Regulation | MiCA-compliant in the EU; issued by a publicly listed, US-regulated company | Issued by a New York–regulated trust company (Paxos) |
The key difference
Both are regulated, fiat-backed dollars with monthly reserve reports. USDC is far larger and more widely used in DeFi and by institutions; PYUSD's edge is distribution through PayPal and Venmo. PYUSD is issued by Paxos under New York supervision, USDC by Circle.
Bottom line
Neither is risk-free. The better choice depends on which risk you would rather carry — issuer and reserve risk, smart-contract and collateral risk, or derivatives risk — and both still lose value to dollar inflation. This comparison is informational, not financial advice.
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.
Market data: DefiLlama (hourly). Inflation: US CPI-U from FRED. This page is informational and not financial advice.