Ranked & Reviewed · 10 services
Best Stablecoins
Ten dollar stablecoins, from Gemini Dollar and USDC to Tether and Ethena USDe, ranked on reserve transparency, regulation, redemption rights, custody and backing clarity. Checked November 2026.
At a glance
| # | Service | Score | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gemini Dollar (GUSD) | 9.4 | Monthly CPA examinations, including an unannounced business day |
| 2 |  USD Coin (USDC) | 9.0 | Most frequent reserve disclosure, with a named fund and custodian |
| 3 |  Pax Dollar (USDP) | 8.8 | OCC-supervised issuer with KPMG-examined cash and repo reserves |
| 4 |  PayPal USD (PYUSD) | 8.8 | OCC-supervised issuer with free, documented 1:1 redemption |
| 5 |  Ripple USD (RLUSD) | 8.8 | NYDFS-chartered issuer with a named bank custodian |
| 6 |  Global Dollar (USDG) | 8.4 | Licensed issuers in Singapore and the EU, with KPMG-examined reports |
| 7 |  First Digital USD (FDUSD) | 6.6 | Monthly reserve reports listing each Treasury bill by CUSIP |
| 8 |  Tether (USDT) | 5.4 | Named auditor and stated reserve mix, with published redemption fees |
| 9 |  Sky USDS | 5.2 | Open on-chain swap route and live collateral totals |
| 10 |  Ethena USDe | 4.8 | Plain disclosure that it is a hedged synthetic dollar, not fiat |
Best Stablecoins, ranked by score
Gemini Dollar scores 9.4/10, first of ten rated stablecoins. A NYDFS-chartered trust company issues it, BPM LLP examines the reserve monthly and on a random business day, and redemption is 1:1 at any time, but only for Gemini customers. Marks rest on desk research of Gemini's disclosures and the September 2026 report.
Pros
- Reserve transparency 10: BPM LLP reasonable-assurance examinations monthly and on a random day
- Regulatory oversight 10: issuer is a NYDFS-chartered trust company; GUSD approved September 2018
- Redemption 9: 1:1 for dollars at any time, no conversion fee, within one business day
- Custody 9: reserve segregated for GUSD; September report names State Street and Western Alliance
Cons
- Only Gemini customers can redeem with the issuer; other holders must sell on a market
- GUSD page lists Goldman Sachs and Fidelity, while the September report names other banks
- Small supply, about 38.4 million GUSD at 30 September 2026, and Ethereum only
USD Coin scores 9.0 among stablecoins, second of ten: monthly Big Four assurance and daily fund holdings lead the category on transparency, and Circle now holds OCC and New York trust charters, but only Circle Mint customers can redeem. Based on Circle's SEC filings, checked November 1, 2026.
Pros
- Monthly Big Four assurance plus daily Circle Reserve Fund holdings (transparency 10)
- OCC national trust bank open since Jul 24, 2026; NY trust charter Jul 31 (oversight 10)
- Reserve fund assets held by BNY; cash in accounts titled for USDC holders (custody 9)
- Reserves in an SEC Rule 2a-7 government fund managed by BlackRock (backing 9)
Cons
- Only Circle Mint customers can redeem with Circle, outside EU-type rules (redemption 7)
- The filings do not say USDC is yet issued by a chartered trust entity
- The attesting firm is described as a Big Four firm but not named in the filings
- Banks holding the cash portion are not named
Pax Dollar scores 8.8/10, up from 8.4, and is listed third of ten rated stablecoins in a three-way tie. An OCC-supervised trust bank issues it, KPMG examines the reserve monthly and verified customers redeem 1:1 without a Paxos fee; custody stops at 7 because the reserve banks are unnamed. Marks come from desk research of Paxos's reports and terms.
Pros
- Regulatory oversight 10: issuer is Paxos Trust Company, N.A., OCC-supervised since 12 Dec 2025
- Reserve transparency 9: KPMG LLP reasonable-assurance examinations monthly, on two dates
- Redemption 9: 1:1 for verified Paxos customers with no Paxos redemption fee
- Backing 9: 100% cash and cash equivalents; September reserve was cash plus overnight repos
Cons
- Custody 7: reserve banks and the repo counterparty are not named
- Paxos stopped publishing its own monthly composition reports for USDP after 2024
- Minimum redemption equals the bank wire fee, and bank fees are deducted
- Small supply: about 26.1 million USDP outstanding on 30 September 2026
PayPal USD scores 8.8 among stablecoins: Paxos, its OCC-supervised issuer, documents free 1:1 redemption and monthly KPMG attestations, but does not name the banks holding the reserves. Marks come from desk research of Paxos and PayPal pages, checked November 1, 2026.
Pros
- Issuer Paxos Trust Company, N.A. is supervised by the OCC (oversight mark 10)
- Monthly attestations by a named firm, KPMG LLP, plus monthly Paxos reports (transparency 9)
- Free 1:1 redemption with Paxos for registered customers; $1 buy and sell in PayPal (redemption 9)
- Reserves stated as 100% USD deposits, Treasuries and cash equivalents (backing 9)
- Terms describe reserves as segregated and bankruptcy-remote
Cons
- Custodian banks holding the reserves are not named (custody mark 7)
- Direct redemption is limited to registered Paxos customers, with a wire-fee minimum
- Paxos's own monthly reports are not independently reviewed
- Paxos may freeze tokens at its sole discretion under its terms
Ripple USD scores 8.8 among stablecoins: its issuer is NYDFS-chartered, BNY is named as reserve custodian and reserves are reported monthly, but redemption is for customers only, on terms Ripple does not publish. Marks come from desk research of Ripple's pages, checked November 1, 2026.
Pros
- Issuer SCTC is chartered by NYDFS, with DFSA approval also named (oversight mark 10)
- BNY named as primary reserve custodian; reserves segregated from SCTC's assets (custody 9)
- Running reserve and supply totals: $2,758.6M against $2,627.0M on Oct 29, 2026
- OCC gave final approval on Oct 26, 2026 to a Ripple trust bank to manage the reserves
- Reserve stated as cash, US Treasuries and government money market funds (backing 9)
Cons
- Direct redemption is for customers only; fees and timing are in a non-public agreement (redemption 7)
- The firm performing the monthly attestations is not named
- The 103% overcollateralization headline does not match the transparency page's ratio
- Terms give holders no right to withdraw reserve assets and do not address insolvency
Global Dollar scores 8.4/10, sixth of ten rated stablecoins, up from 8.0 after its monthly reserve reports gained a named examiner, KPMG, and CUSIP-level detail. Licensed issuers in Singapore and Finland earn a 9 on regulation; custody is weakest, as the reserve banks are unnamed. Marks come from desk research of Paxos's reports and terms.
Pros
- Regulatory oversight 9: MAS-licensed Singapore issuer and FIN-FSA-supervised EU issuer under MiCA
- Reserve transparency 9: KPMG LLP reasonable-assurance reports, T-bills listed by CUSIP
- Redemption 9: 1:1 for verified Paxos customers with no Paxos mint or redeem fee
- September 2026 reserve exceeded tokens outstanding by 0.11% on 30 September
Cons
- Custody 6: reserve banks named only as 'Bank 1' and 'Bank 2 in Singapore'
- Terms do not describe the USDG reserve as bankruptcy-remote; cash deposits are uninsured
- Singapore issuance rests on a payments licence, not a dedicated MAS stablecoin licence
- Bank fees are passed on and a minimum redemption may equal the wire fee
FDUSD scores 6.6/10, seventh of ten rated stablecoins. Monthly attestations by a named firm list every T-bill, and a Hong Kong trust company segregates the reserves, but the BVI issuer has no supervisor and the banks holding the reserves are unnamed. Marks come from desk research of the whitepaper, the June 2026 attestation and regulator records.
Pros
- Reserve transparency 8: monthly ISAE 3000 reports by AOGB CPA Limited, T-bills listed by CUSIP
- Custody 7: a named, licensed Hong Kong trust company keeps reserves in segregated accounts
- Backing model clarity 8: stated as fiat-reserve (T-bills, fixed deposits, cash), no yield
- June 2026 report shows US$351.7m in reserves against 350.1m FDUSD in circulation
Cons
- Regulatory oversight 4: the BVI issuer names no supervisor and rules out a Hong Kong licence
- Reserves sit at unnamed institutions in nine countries, through a related-party custodian
- Redemption 6: account holders only, with an unquantified surcharge; not available in the US
- Attestations are limited assurance, and June 2026 is the latest report we could open
Tether scores 5.4 among stablecoins: it names BDO as attester, states that reserves can include loans and related-company assets, and now names an El Salvador supervisor, but reports quarterly and does not segregate reserves for holders. Desk research, checked November 1, 2026.
Pros
- Attestations by a named firm, BDO; circulation data typically daily (transparency 6)
- Terms name CNAD oversight of Tether as an El Salvador stablecoin issuer (oversight 5)
- Redemption fees and minimums are published in full (redemption 5)
- $132.4B of $191.45B assets in US Treasury bills at Sep 30, 2026 (backing 7)
Cons
- Terms state holders' property is not segregated; no custodian named (custody 4)
- Attestations are quarterly, against monthly at the category's top issuers
- Redemption only for verified customers, $100,000 minimum, fee at least $1,000
- About 31% of assets not broken down by category in the Q3 2026 release
- Supervisor is named only in Tether's own terms; register not verified
Sky USDS scores 5.2 among stablecoins: anyone can swap it for USDC through a public contract and collateral totals are live, but no regulator, custodian or readable collateral breakdown stands behind it. Marks come from desk research of Sky's site and developer docs, checked November 1, 2026.
Pros
- Any address can swap USDS for USDC at a fixed ratio through the LitePSM (redemption 6)
- sky.money shows $15.37B collateral against 9.54B USDS and DAI supply (transparency 6)
- Generation, the DAI converter and the swap module are documented for developers
- Collateral held in public contracts can be inspected on chain
Cons
- No issuing entity and no regulator (oversight mark 3)
- No custodian named for off-chain assets; USDS contract is upgradeable (custody 5)
- Collateral composition was not readable on a published page (backing 6)
- Swap route is to USDC, not dollars, and can be halted or run dry
- No accountant attests the collateral figures
Ethena USDe scores 4.8/10, last of ten rated stablecoins. Its documents state plainly that it is a hedged synthetic dollar and name four custodians, but no regulator supervises the issuer and only approved, non-US Mint Users can redeem. Marks come from desk research of Ethena's docs, terms and BaFin notices.
Pros
- Backing model clarity 7: calls itself a synthetic dollar and documents the hedge, peg arbitrage and risks
- Custody 5: docs name Copper, Ceffu, Kraken and Anchorage Digital as off-exchange custodians
- Reserve transparency 6: monthly custodian attestations, the latest listed for September 2026
- Terms state openly that the issuer does not guarantee one USDe will equal $1
Cons
- Regulatory oversight 2: the BVI issuer names no licence or supervisor
- Redemption rights 4: only whitelisted, KYC-checked, non-US Mint Users can redeem
- Holders have no stated claim on the reserves if Ethena BVI fails
- Attestations come from the custodians, not an accounting firm, and give no dated asset breakdown
Best stablecoins by use case
- You want the most rigorous reserve checks: Gemini Dollar (GUSD). BPM LLP examines the reserve monthly at month-end and on one randomly chosen business day (reserve transparency 10), and the issuer is a NYDFS-chartered trust company (oversight 10). Only Gemini customers can redeem with the issuer, and GUSD is small, at about 38.4 million tokens on 30 September 2026.
- You want the most frequent view of what backs the token: USD Coin (USDC), with monthly Big Four assurance plus daily holdings of the Circle Reserve Fund published on BlackRock's website (transparency 10). Direct redemption is limited to Circle Mint customers (redemption 7).
- You want to redeem directly, 1:1 and without an issuer fee: Pax Dollar (USDP) or PayPal USD (PYUSD). Both are issued by Paxos Trust Company, N.A., an OCC-supervised national trust bank (oversight 10), and verified Paxos customers redeem without a Paxos fee (redemption 9). Neither names the banks holding the reserve (custody 7).
- You want a named bank custodian: Ripple USD (RLUSD), whose reserves sit with BNY (custody 9). Its redemption fees, minimums and timing are in a customer agreement Ripple does not publish (redemption 7).
- You want an issuer licensed outside the US: Global Dollar (USDG), issued under a MAS Major Payment Institution licence in Singapore and an e-money licence in Finland (oversight 9), with KPMG-examined monthly reports. The reserve banks are anonymized (custody 6).
- You need an exit that does not depend on an issuer account: Sky USDS, which any address can swap for USDC at fixed ratios through a public contract (redemption 6). No regulator supervises it (oversight 3), and the route depends on USDC itself.
How the ranking works
Each stablecoin is marked 0 to 10 on five criteria from the published stablecoin rubric, each worth 20%:
- Reserve transparency: monthly beats quarterly, a named examiner beats an unnamed one, and instrument-level detail such as Treasury bills listed by CUSIP beats a category summary.
- Regulatory oversight: the named authority supervising the issuing entity and its licence. An offshore issuer with no prudential supervisor scores low.
- Redemption rights: who can redeem directly, at what rate, with what minimum and fee, and whether redemption is stated to be always available.
- Custody & segregation: whether the custodian is named and the reserve is legally separated from the issuer's own balance sheet.
- Backing model clarity: whether the issuer says plainly whether the coin is fiat-reserve, crypto-collateralised or synthetic, and describes the mechanism honestly.
The overall score is the plain average of the five marks, rounded to one decimal. Gemini Dollar's 10, 10, 9, 9 and 9 total 47, and 47 divided by 5 is 9.4. Ties are listed alphabetically, which is why Pax Dollar, PayPal USD and Ripple USD appear in that order at 8.8. Peg history and market depth are deliberately not scored, because they could not be evidenced to the same standard as documented reserve and licensing facts. Marks were checked on 1 November 2026 against issuer terms, reserve reports, SEC filings and regulator records; the basis is desk research, not buying or redeeming tokens. Marks are re-checked on each update, and each review logs what moved and why. See our ratings methodology.
What changed in this update
| Stablecoin | Now | July 2026 | What moved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gemini Dollar (GUSD) | 9.4 | 9.4 | No change |
| USD Coin (USDC) | 9.0 | 8.6 | Oversight 8 to 10: OCC national trust bank and NYDFS trust charter in Circle's group |
| Pax Dollar (USDP) | 8.8 | 8.4 | Oversight 9 to 10; custody 6 to 7 (segregated, bankruptcy-remote accounts stated) |
| PayPal USD (PYUSD) | 8.8 | 8.2 | Oversight 8 to 10; redemption 8 to 9 (direct Paxos redemption documented) |
| Ripple USD (RLUSD) | 8.8 | 8.8 | No change |
| Global Dollar (USDG) | 8.4 | 8.0 | Transparency 7 to 9 (KPMG, CUSIP detail), backing 8 to 9; oversight 10 to 9 |
| First Digital USD (FDUSD) | 6.6 | 7.4 | Oversight 6 to 4 (BVI issuer, no supervisor); custody 9 to 7 |
| Tether (USDT) | 5.4 | 5.2 | Oversight 4 to 5: terms name El Salvador's CNAD |
| Sky USDS | 5.2 | 5.0 | Redemption 5 to 6: permissionless USDC swap documented |
| Ethena USDe | 4.8 | 4.6 | Custody 4 to 5: four named off-exchange custodians |
The oversight moves follow a scale rule adopted on 2 November 2026 so that the same licence earns the same mark across the category. A 10 now goes to an issuer chartered and supervised as a bank or trust company by a US prudential regulator, or holding a dedicated stablecoin-issuer licence. A 9 goes to a general payments or e-money licence. That lifted USDC and the two Paxos coins and moved USDG down one point. For USDC, Circle's filing does not say USDC is issued from either chartered entity; that caveat is recorded in its review. FDUSD fell furthest: its whitepaper confirms the issuer moved to the British Virgin Islands in August 2025 and says FDUSD will not be licensed under Hong Kong's stablecoin regime, and its June 2026 attestation shows a related-party custodian holding reserves at unnamed institutions in nine countries. No stablecoin was withdrawn.
What the scores do not cover
- Peg history and liquidity. Not scored. USDC traded below $1 on some markets in March 2023 after Circle disclosed more than $3 billion of reserves at Silicon Valley Bank, and FDUSD fell well below $1 in April 2025 after allegations against its custodian, which First Digital denied. Neither episode moves a mark.
- Freezing and contract controls. Circle, Paxos, Ripple, Gemini and Tether all reserve the right to freeze tokens or blacklist addresses; Ripple's terms also allow it to burn RLUSD in a wallet. These powers are not scored.
- Enforcement history. Tether's 2021 settlements with the New York Attorney General and the CFTC concerned past reserve statements and are not a separate criterion. BaFin barred Ethena GmbH from continuing to offer USDe in March 2025; that sits within USDe's oversight mark.
- Yield. The Sky Savings Rate, sUSDe rewards and PayPal's balance rewards are not part of any score and are not assessments of return. Ethena says sUSDe rewards may stop when funding turns negative.
- Networks and bridges. Which chains carry each coin, and native versus bridged versions, were not measured.
- Deposit insurance. Stablecoins are not bank deposits. Paxos says its tokens are not FDIC insured.
How to choose a stablecoin
- Decide whether you need to redeem with the issuer or only to trade. If you cannot redeem, you rely on the market price, and on your exchange's terms and solvency.
- Read the redemption terms: eligibility, minimum and fee. Tether's, for example, are a $100,000 minimum, a fee of the greater of $1,000 or 0.1%, and a $150 verification fee.
- Open the latest reserve report. Note its date, the examining firm, whether it is monthly, and whether it lists instruments or only categories.
- Find the issuing entity and its supervisor, not just the brand. USDP and PYUSD share an issuer; FDUSD's moved offshore.
- Check whether the reserve is segregated for holders. Tether's terms say holder property is not segregated, and USDe gives holders no claim on its reserves.
- Know the backing model. A synthetic dollar such as USDe holds hedged positions, not cash and Treasuries.
- For a fuller checklist, see our guide on how to assess a stablecoin.
What is the safest stablecoin?
No stablecoin is risk-free, and this ranking does not measure the chance of a depeg. What it measures is how much of the claim behind the token you can check. On that basis Gemini Dollar and USD Coin score highest, at 9.4 and 9.0, followed by the three-way tie at 8.8. The best fit still depends on whether you can redeem with the issuer: GUSD redeems for Gemini customers, USDC for Circle Mint customers, and USDP and PYUSD for verified Paxos customers.
What types of stablecoin are ranked here?
Eight are issued by companies against reserves of mostly cash, Treasury bills, repo and money market funds; Tether's terms say its reserves can also include loans and related-company assets. Sky USDS is generated by smart contracts against collateral that governance approves, with no company issuing it, which is why it has no regulator to score; its collateral mix could not be read from a published page. Ethena USDe is a synthetic dollar held near $1 by hedged positions, and its documents say so plainly, which earns its backing model mark of 7. A synthetic dollar is not scored down for being synthetic; it is scored on how honestly it is described.
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
Only the criteria above count. 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.
Frequently asked questions
How were the stablecoins in this ranking selected?
The page ranks the ten dollar-pegged stablecoins that have a full review in this category: eight issued by companies against reserves, one protocol-issued coin backed by on-chain collateral (Sky USDS) and one synthetic dollar (Ethena USDe). Each is assessed on the same five documented criteria. No stablecoin was withdrawn in this update.
How is the stablecoin score calculated?
Each coin gets a 0 to 10 mark on reserve transparency, regulatory oversight, redemption rights, custody and segregation, and backing model clarity. The overall score is the plain average of the five, rounded to one decimal, with ties listed alphabetically. Every criterion carries equal weight.
Which stablecoin risk does the score not capture?
Peg history and market depth are not scored, so a past depeg does not lower a mark. Freezing powers, smart-contract risk and bridged versions on other chains are also outside the rubric. A high score means the claim is well documented, not that the price cannot move.
Which stablecoin fits a holder who wants direct redemption?
Pax Dollar, PayPal USD and Global Dollar document 1:1 redemption with no Paxos fee for verified Paxos customers, and Gemini Dollar redeems 1:1 for Gemini customers. USDC redeems only through Circle Mint, an institutional service. Ethena USDe redeems only for approved, non-US Mint Users.
What fees and country restrictions should I check?
Check the issuer's redemption minimum and fee: Tether charges the greater of $1,000 or 0.1% with a $100,000 minimum, while Paxos states no fee. Ethena excludes US persons from minting and redeeming, and the Sky app restricts some jurisdictions. Exchange withdrawal fees and network gas apply on top.
How old are the measurements in this ranking?
All marks were checked on 1 November 2026, using reserve reports up to September 2026 where issuers had published them; FDUSD's latest readable attestation was for June 2026. This page was reviewed on 6 November 2026. Reserve reports appear monthly or quarterly, so check the latest one before relying on these figures.
Rankings are editorial. Nothing here is financial advice. Editorial policy · How we score · How we're funded.