Global Dollar (USDG) Review

Global Dollar (USDG) scores 8.4 out of 10 in our stablecoin ratings, up from 8.0, sixth of the ten coins rated. The rise comes from reserve reporting: the monthly reports are now examined by KPMG LLP and list every Treasury bill by CUSIP, which answers the main weakness recorded in the last review. Regulation, with licensed issuers in Singapore and Finland, is one of its four criteria marked 9. Custody is still its weakest, because the banks holding the reserve are identified only as "Bank 1" and "Bank 2". The basis is desk research of Paxos's USDG transparency page, the KPMG-examined report for September 2026 and Paxos's stablecoin terms, rechecked on 1 November 2026.

How USDG scores in stablecoins

The category uses five criteria, each marked 0 to 10 and each worth one fifth of the total, as set out in our ratings methodology.

The arithmetic is a plain average: (9 + 9 + 9 + 6 + 9) / 5 = 42 / 5 = 8.4. No criterion is weighted more than another and no penalty is applied.

Changes from the previous scoring: reserve transparency rose from 7 to 9 because the reports now name the examining firm, KPMG LLP, and give instrument-level detail. Backing model clarity rose from 8 to 9 because the same reports now show the reserve mix by asset type, which the earlier review found missing. Regulatory oversight fell from 10 to 9 under the category's scale rule of 2 November 2026: 10 is reserved for an issuer chartered as a bank or trust company by a US prudential regulator or holding a dedicated stablecoin-issuer licence, and 9 goes to an issuer supervised under a general payments licence such as a MAS Major Payment Institution licence. The overall score moves from 8.0 to 8.4. The other two marks are unchanged.

Strongest criteria: licensing and the new reserve reports

Regulatory oversight (9)

USDG names both issuers and both supervisors. The September 2026 report states that MAS granted Paxos Digital Singapore a Major Payment Institution licence to issue stablecoins on 1 July 2024, and that Paxos Issuance Europe Oy has held an e-money institution licence from FIN-FSA since 23 November 2022. Paxos's stablecoin terms, last updated 30 June 2026, confirm that the two companies issue USDG jointly. One nuance: the report describes Singapore issuance as run "in consideration of" MAS's upcoming stablecoin framework, so the Singapore side rests on a payments licence and a letter of undertaking to MAS rather than a dedicated stablecoin licence. The EU side falls under MiCA's rules for e-money tokens, including reserve segregation and redemption at par. Under the category's scale, that payments-licence basis earns 9, against the 10 given to issuers that are themselves US-chartered trust companies.

Reserve transparency (9)

KPMG LLP's Singapore office gave a reasonable-assurance opinion, dated 23 October 2026, on two dates: 17 and 30 September 2026. On 30 September the report shows 3,164,996,248 USDG outstanding across seven blockchains against US$3,168,423,407 in reserves: US$1.68 billion in government money market funds, US$1.41 billion in Treasury bills and US$78.1 million in cash, a 0.11% excess. Treasury bills are listed by CUSIP, maturity, cost and fair value, and cash is split between Singapore and Luxembourg accounts. That meets the rubric's tests for frequency, a named firm and instrument-level detail. The one gap holding it below 10 is that the banks are anonymized, which the custody mark also reflects.

Backing model clarity (9)

The terms list what may back USDG for each issuer, and the report shows what actually does, by asset type, every month. A reader can see, for example, that cash fell from US$425 million on 17 September to US$78 million on 30 September as more was moved into Treasury bills.

Weaker criteria: redemption limits and unnamed banks

Redemption rights (9)

Paxos states zero fees to mint or redeem USDG, at 1:1, for customers with a fully verified Paxos account. Its terms add that bank fees Paxos incurs are deducted, that a minimum redemption may be set equal to the customer's wire fee, and that dormant accounts with a balance are charged $2.00 a month after twelve months. Holders without a Paxos account exit through the platforms that list USDG.

Custody and segregation (6)

This is the measured weakness. The report says the reserve is held in segregated, unencumbered accounts "on behalf of USDG token holders", and that Treasury bills sit with a qualified custodian. But it identifies the banks only as "Bank 1 in Singapore" and "Bank 2 in Singapore", records the cash deposits as uninsured, and the terms, unlike Paxos's provisions for its US trust company, do not describe the USDG reserve as bankruptcy-remote. The rubric asks whether custodians are named and whether the assets survive the issuer's insolvency; here neither is shown.

What the score does not cover

• Partner rewards. Global Dollar Network partners can receive up to 100% of reserve returns on USDG held on their platforms. Holders receive nothing from the token itself, and the scheme is not scored.
• Peg history and liquidity. Not criteria in this category.
• Freezing powers. Paxos's terms allow tokens to be frozen; contract controls are outside the rubric.

Our guide on how to assess a stablecoin covers those checks.

USDG vs PayPal USD and USD Coin

PayPal USD (PYUSD) scores 8.8, as do Pax Dollar and Ripple USD, and USD Coin (USDC) scores 9.0. The table compares USDG with the two; Pax Dollar's marks match PYUSD's.

USDG trails PYUSD by 0.4 and USDC by 0.6. Both lead on regulation (10 against 9), USDC also leads on custody and transparency, and USDG and PYUSD share the redemption lead. Against PYUSD, a sister token from the same Paxos group, USDG is a point lower on oversight and a point lower on custody.

Who the score suits

The rating fits readers who want a dollar token with licensed issuers outside the United States and audited, line-by-line reserve reports, and who can redeem through a verified Paxos account. It suits less well anyone who wants to know which banks hold the money. This is an assessment of published documents, not a recommendation to hold USDG.