USDS vs USDe
Sky Dollar (USDS) and Ethena USDe (USDe) 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.
| Sky Dollar (USDS) | Ethena USDe (USDe) | |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Sky | Ethena Labs |
| Type | Crypto-collateralized | Synthetic dollar |
| Backing | The Sky protocol's collateral: crypto, stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets | Crypto collateral hedged with short perpetual futures, plus a reserve fund |
| Launched | September 2024 | February 2024 |
| Market cap | $7.02B | $4.95B |
| Price | $0.9996 | $0.9996 |
| Distance from $1 | -0.04% | -0.04% |
| Chains | 7 | 31 |
| Worst recorded depeg | None significant | $0.6500 (Oct 2025) |
| Lost to inflation | −6% | −7% |
| Regulation | Decentralized protocol with no licensed issuer | Not a regulated payment stablecoin |
The key difference
Both offer native yield — USDS through the Sky Savings Rate, USDe through staked sUSDe — but from different sources. USDS is backed by overcollateralized crypto and real-world assets governed by a DAO; USDe by a delta-hedged derivatives position. USDS yield is set by governance; USDe yield follows perpetual-futures funding rates and can fall sharply.
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.