Ranked & Reviewed
Best Stablecoins
Dollar-pegged tokens ranked on peg record, reserve transparency, redemption rights and regulatory standing.
No money changes hands. This is a non-commercial project: no advertising, no sponsored placements, and no affiliate or referral links. Links to the services below earn us nothing. Every overall score is the plain average of the criteria shown on the page, so you can check the arithmetic yourself — see our rating methodology and how the site is funded.
GUSD is the most completely documented stablecoin in this comparison: regulated by NYDFS since 2018, attested monthly by BPM LLP on a randomly selected business day, with reserves held at State Street, Goldman Sachs and Fidelity and 1:1 redemption stated as always available to Gemini customers.
Pros
- Regulated by the New York State Department of Financial Services since 2018
- Monthly attestations by a named firm, BPM LLP
- Attestation performed on a randomly selected business day, not a date the issuer picks
- Custodians named: State Street Bank and Trust, Goldman Sachs, Fidelity
Cons
- Direct redemption is stated for Gemini customers, so it depends on holding an account there
- Reserves in money market funds and T-bills carry duration, unlike pure cash
- Circulating supply is small relative to the largest stablecoins
RLUSD is issued through a limited-purpose trust chartered by NYDFS, with additional approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority, backed one-to-one by cash, US Treasuries and cash equivalents, and custodied primarily by BNY since July 2025.
Pros
- Issued through an NYDFS-chartered limited purpose trust
- Additional approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority
- BNY named as primary custodian of reserves since July 2025
- Monthly third-party attestations of reserve assets
Cons
- Retail redemption terms are not set out on the page we checked
- Younger than most issuers here, with a shorter public track record
- The attesting firm is not named on this page
The majority of USDC reserves sit in the Circle Reserve Fund, an SEC-registered 2a-7 government money market fund managed by BlackRock, with monthly attestations that disclose the CUSIP, maturity and fair value of every Treasury held.
Pros
- Attestations disclose CUSIP, maturity date and fair value of every Treasury obligation held
- Majority of reserves in an SEC-registered 2a-7 government money market fund
- Fund managed by BlackRock, and the structure is publicly documented
- Backed by short-duration US Treasuries and cash in the US banking system
Cons
- Retail redemption is generally intermediated rather than direct with the issuer
- Prudential supervision is spread across state money transmitter regimes rather than one named charter
- Reserve fund structure adds a layer between holder and underlying assets
Paxos states USDP reserves are held 100% in cash and cash equivalents so that funds are always available for 1:1 redemption, with monthly attestation reports and oversight from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
Pros
- Reserves stated as 100% cash and cash equivalents — no duration, no credit risk
- Redemption described as 1:1 and always available
- Monthly attestation reports published
- Issuer subject to OCC oversight
Cons
- Custodian banks are not named on the page we checked
- The attesting firm is not named on this page
- Cash-only reserves earn less, which constrains the product's economics
PYUSD is issued and custodied by Paxos Trust Company, backed by US dollar deposits, Treasuries and cash equivalents, with a monthly reserve self-report from Paxos alongside a monthly attestation from an independent accounting firm.
Pros
- Issuance and custody performed by Paxos Trust Company, N.A., a regulated trust
- Two layers of monthly reporting: issuer self-report plus independent attestation
- Backing stated specifically as USD deposits, US treasuries and cash equivalents
- 1 PYUSD buys and sells for 1 USD within PayPal
Cons
- Redemption is stated within PayPal rather than directly with the issuing trust
- The independent accounting firm is not named on the page we checked
- Practical use is bound to the PayPal ecosystem
USDG is issued by Paxos Digital Singapore, a Major Payments Institution supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, with a European issuer operating under FIN FSA supervision and MiCA compliance. Reserve reports are monthly but thinly described.
Pros
- Issuer supervised by the Monetary Authority of Singapore as a Major Payments Institution
- Separate European issuance entity under FIN FSA supervision and MiCA
- Fully redeemable from Paxos on a one-to-one basis for US dollars
- Regulatory footing is stated jurisdiction by jurisdiction
Cons
- Monthly reserve reports are referenced but the attesting firm and methodology are not described
- Custodians are not named
- Reserve composition is not broken down on the page we checked
FDUSD reserves are custodied by First Digital Trust Limited, a Hong Kong registered trust company, fully segregated from the trust's own assets so they survive its insolvency. The issuing entity is BVI-registered, and attestations are monthly.
Pros
- Reserve assets fully segregated from the trust company's own assets to isolate its bankruptcy
- Custodian is a registered trust company under Hong Kong's Trustee Ordinance
- Reserves in cash, very short-dated US T-bills and overnight reverse repos
- Independent attestation reports published monthly
Cons
- The issuing entity is BVI-registered, a lighter regime than a US or Singapore charter
- No named prudential regulator supervises the issuer itself, only the custodian's trust licence
- Retail redemption terms are not set out on the pages we checked
- The attesting firm is not named
Tether states its tokens are backed 100% by its reserves and that assets exceed liabilities, publishing circulation data daily and attestation reports quarterly through BDO Italia. Its reserves have historically included secured loans alongside Treasury bills.
Pros
- Circulation data published daily
- Quarterly attestation reports issued by a named firm, BDO Italia
- Substantial disclosed US Treasury bill holdings
- By far the largest circulating supply and deepest market presence
Cons
- Attestation is quarterly where most competitors here attest monthly
- Reserves have included secured loans, which pure cash and T-bill issuers do not hold
- No named prudential regulator supervises the issuer
- Custodian banks are not named
- The transparency page itself does not set out reserve composition
USDS is the native stablecoin of the Sky Protocol, backed by on-chain collateral whose market value, including the excess above coverage, is published live. There is no issuer, no regulator and no redemption counterparty in the conventional sense.
Pros
- Collateral value is published live on-chain, including the excess above coverage
- No single issuer whose insolvency could impair the backing
- Supply reported openly alongside DAI
Cons
- No regulator supervises it, because there is no issuing entity to supervise
- No redemption counterparty — exit depends on the protocol and on market liquidity
- The peg mechanism is not explained on the official site
- Collateral composition is not set out on the landing page
USDe is a synthetic dollar maintained through hedging rather than fiat reserves. Ethena publishes a protocol backing ratio and peg metrics, and states plainly that the product is not a bank deposit and is not insured by the FDIC, SIPC or any other insurer.
Pros
- Describes itself as a synthetic dollar product rather than implying fiat backing
- Publishes a protocol backing ratio and time-below-peg metrics
- Disclaims FDIC, SIPC and other insurance explicitly rather than staying silent
Cons
- Not backed by fiat reserves; the mechanism depends on hedging positions holding up
- No regulator supervises it and the disclaimer states it is uninsured
- Backing composition is not detailed on the landing page
- The peg mechanism itself is not explained where a retail reader would find it
At a glance
| Service | Score | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Gemini Dollar (GUSD) | 9.4 | Named auditor, named regulator, named custodians |
| Ripple USD (RLUSD) | 8.8 | Dual regulatory approval with a named custodian |
| USD Coin (USDC) | 8.6 | Instrument-level reserve disclosure |
| Pax Dollar (USDP) | 8.4 | Cash-only reserves with unconditional redemption |
| PayPal USD (PYUSD) | 8.2 | Regulated issuer behind a consumer brand |
| Global Dollar (USDG) | 8.0 | Supervised in Singapore and under MiCA in Europe |
| First Digital USD (FDUSD) | 7.4 | Bankruptcy-segregated reserves in a Hong Kong trust |
| Tether (USDT) | 5.2 | The largest supply, the thinnest disclosure cadence |
| Sky USDS | 5.0 | Crypto-collateralised with public collateral data |
| Ethena USDe | 4.6 | Synthetic dollar, and says so |
A stablecoin is a claim, not a currency. Whether one unit is worth one dollar when you need it to be depends on what backs it, who is allowed to redeem it, and how quickly that redemption settles.
Because these are assets rather than services, they are scored differently to the rest of the site: peg record through past stress, the composition and auditing of reserves, redemption terms and limits, the issuing entity's licences, and the depth of on-chain liquidity that lets ordinary holders exit without a direct redemption.
How we score this category
A stablecoin is a claim on an issuer, not a currency, so this rubric scores the paperwork behind that claim: what backs it, who checks the backing and how often, who may redeem, which regulator oversees the issuer, and where the reserves physically sit. Peg history and market depth are deliberately not scored — we could not verify them to the same standard as documented reserve and licensing facts, and a rubric is only worth having if every criterion is evidenced the same way.
Every service in this ranking is scored 0–10 against the same 5 criteria, each carrying equal weight (20% apiece). The overall score is their plain average, rounded to one decimal place, and each review prints the individual numbers and the arithmetic so you can reproduce the result yourself.
What each criterion covers
- Reserve transparency20% of the score
- What the reserves consist of, how often they are attested, whether the attesting firm is named, and how granular the disclosure is. Monthly beats quarterly, a named auditor beats an unnamed one, and instrument-level detail beats a category summary.
- Regulatory oversight20% of the score
- Which authority supervises the issuing entity and under what licence, named specifically. A trust charter or payments licence from a named regulator is a materially different proposition to an offshore issuer with no stated prudential supervisor.
- Redemption rights20% of the score
- Who may redeem directly with the issuer, at what rate, with what minimum, and whether the issuer states redemption is always available. A token that trades at a dollar but cannot be redeemed by you is relying on the market, not the issuer.
- Custody & segregation20% of the score
- Where the reserves are held, whether the custodian is named, and whether the assets are legally segregated from the issuer's own balance sheet so they survive its insolvency.
- Backing model clarity20% of the score
- Whether the issuer states plainly what type of instrument this is — fiat-reserve, crypto-collateralised or synthetic — and describes the mechanism honestly. A synthetic dollar is not worse than a fiat-backed one, but presenting one as the other is.
What does not affect a score
Nothing commercial, because there is nothing commercial to affect it. This is a non-commercial project: no advertising, no sponsored placements, and no affiliate or referral links anywhere on the site. Links to the services above earn us nothing, so no provider can buy a score, a rank, or an entry in this list. Where two services finish level, they are listed alphabetically rather than ordered silently.
The process across all categories, including how often we re-check, is set out in our ratings methodology.
Rankings are editorial. Nothing here is financial advice. Editorial policy · How we score · How we're funded.