8 Major Stablecoins Compared

The largest stablecoin by far. Dominant in trading pairs and emerging-market remittances. Weaker regulatory transparency than USDC—no major-jurisdiction license, quarterly rather than monthly attestations—but unmatched liquidity across chains.

Backed entirely by cash and short-duration US Treasuries with monthly Deloitte attestations. The go-to stablecoin for regulated platforms, institutional treasuries, and on-chain DeFi. Native support on Base gives it a strong L2 position.

The only major stablecoin with no single issuer. Over-collateralized at 150%+ by crypto assets locked in MakerDAO smart contracts. Governance sits with MKR token holders. Reserves are verifiable on-chain at any time—no attestation needed.

Regulated under Hong Kong's VASP framework. Tight Binance integration and BSC availability drive its volume. A bet on Hong Kong's crypto-friendly regulatory trajectory.

Issued under a NYDFS Trust Charter—one of the strictest regulatory frameworks in crypto. Reserve quality and attestation rigor match USDC. The trade-off is lower liquidity due to smaller market cap and Ethereum-only availability.

Issued by Paxos under NYDFS regulation, purpose-built for PayPal's 400M+ user base. Same regulatory rigor as USDP. Distribution advantage is the key differentiator—PayPal and Venmo users can buy, hold, and send PYUSD natively.

Uses real-time attestation via Armanino, which is a genuine differentiator on transparency. The higher risk score reflects its BVI domicile, ownership structure changes, and lack of a major-jurisdiction license. Available across four chains.

The only major EUR-pegged stablecoin. Issued by Circle under both EU and US regulatory frameworks. Tiny market cap limits liquidity, but it's strategically important for EUR-denominated DeFi and MiCA-compliant European operations.