Since August 2023, the market value of stablecoins has skyrocketed by about 100%, and the growth trend has not slowed down at all.#USDT#USDC #USDe

As of now, the total market value of stablecoins worldwide is US$225.3 billion, surpassing the total market value of General Electric and ranking 67th in global assets.

Ark Capital even predicts that stablecoins will grow at a compound annual rate of 38% by 2030.

Therefore, we have reason to take a deeper look at the tokens and projects in this field, and look for opportunities and financial management methods that ordinary people like us can participate in.

I have compiled the basic information, financial returns, and associated tokens of the top 10 stablecoins by market value (in order of ranking) for your reference.

1. USDT (Tether)

$USDT is a stablecoin issued by Tether @Tether_to (Tether Company), currently the largest stablecoin by market share, with a market value of approximately $142 billion, accounting for 63.08%.

USDT currently supports 77 chains and is also a common method for our withdrawals and deposits.

USDT is generated by cash or cash equivalent collateral. Simply put, Tether Company pledges $1 to the bank, and it has the right to issue one USDT on-chain, but the transparency and frequency of USDT disclosures have always been criticized.

2. USDC

$USDC is a stablecoin issued jointly by Circle @circle and Coinbase @coinbase, currently the second-largest stablecoin by market value, approximately $56 billion, accounting for about 25.04%.

USDC currently supports 90 chains and is the main stablecoin used in blockchain activities. The generation principle of USDC is similar to USDT, but the disclosed information is much more comprehensive and frequent compared to USDT.

3. USDe

$USDe is a stablecoin launched by the Ethena project @ethena_labs, which is a product of the Delta neutral arbitrage strategy. USDe currently has a market value of around $6 billion, accounting for about 2.67%.

Ethena issues USDe in exchange for users' cash flow to buy BTC, ETH, and then short BTC and ETH using the coin-based approach, earning funding rates, which will be distributed to USDe stakers.

The average annual interest rate can reach about 8%-12% (currently around 6%), higher in a bull market, but a prolonged bear market poses a risk of decoupling.

The staked version of USDe is sUSDe, which is often used as a rebase asset collateral in lending DeFi such as Aave or Morpho, currently supporting 11 chains.

4. DAI

$DAI is a stablecoin launched by the MakerDAO @MakerDAO project, with a current market value of $4.63 billion, accounting for about 2.06%. Its principle is to use over-collateralization of cryptocurrencies (e.g., BTC and ETH) for generation.

The stability of DAI is controlled by contract code and MKR holders managing the deposit and borrowing rates. The current annual interest rate for staking as sDAI is 8.75%. DAI supports 41 chains.

In light of the MakerDAO protocol upgrade to Sky.money, DAI can now be upgraded 1:1 to USDS.

5. USDS

$USDS is a stablecoin launched by the upgraded version of MakerDAO, Sky @SkyEcosystem, with a current market value of $4.5 billion, accounting for about 2%, and can be converted 1:1 from DAI.

USDS operates on the same principle as DAI, using over-collateralization of cryptocurrencies for generation, but has a path for collateralizing real assets. Unlike DAI, USDS may be subject to freezing.

The average annual interest rate for staking as sUSDS is also 8.75%, but there are additional SKY token rewards. Currently, it only supports Ethereum, Solana, and Base chains.

6. FDUSD

$FDUSD (First Digital USD) is a stablecoin issued by FD121 Limited, currently with a market value of $1.82 billion, accounting for about 0.81%.

FD121 Limited's parent company, First Digital Trust, is a qualified custodian and trust company headquartered in Hong Kong, backed by Binance.

FDUSD is generated by cash and cash equivalent collateral. Currently supports Ethereum, Solana, SUI, and BSC chains.

7. USD0

$USD0 is a stablecoin issued by Usual @usualmoney, with a current market value of $1.14 billion, accounting for about 0.5%, primarily obtained through Usual's overnight reverse repurchase of U.S. Treasury assets from third parties.

USD0 staked as USD0++ can earn basic US Treasury interest and USUAL token rewards, with the current APY around 24% (the excess mainly comes from USUAL token rewards).

Currently supports only Ethereum and Arbitrum chains. The stability principle of this token and its project principle are relatively complex.

8. USDD

USDD is a stablecoin issued by Sun Yuchen, aka Sun Ge @justinsuntron, on Tron, with a current market value of $734 million, accounting for about 0.33%. It is generated by over-collateralizing BTC, USDT, USDC, and TRX by 120%, mainly using cryptocurrencies from Sun Ge.

The stability and yield of USDD are centrally managed by Sun Ge, who promises an annual yield of 20% for USDD, subsidized by himself. Currently, it supports Tron, Ethereum, BSC, and Bittorrent chains.

9. PYUSD

$PYUSD (PayPal USD) is a stablecoin jointly issued by the global veteran payment provider PayPal and Paxos, with a current market value of $642 million, accounting for about 0.28%.

PYUSD is fully collateralized by dollar deposits, short-term U.S. Treasury bonds, and similar cash equivalents. It is primarily used for PayPal payments and on the Ethereum and Solana chains.

10. USDX

$USDX is a product under usdx.money, with a current market value of $623 million, accounting for about 0.28%. Its generation principle is also Delta neutral strategy arbitrage.

However, unlike USDe, USDX supports not only BTC and ETH but also arbitrage for other small cryptocurrencies. Staking as sUSDX can yield an annual rate of 7.13%.

Like USDe, there is a decoupling risk in a prolonged bear market, and because it supports arbitrage of altcoins, the risk may be slightly higher. Currently, it only supports Ethereum, BSC, and Arbitrum chains.

USDX is currently in the airdrop interaction phase, and deposits will earn point rewards.

🔴 In summary

The top 10 stablecoins are basically divided into 3 types of generation methods.

1. Cash or cash equivalent collateral

2. Over-collateralized crypto assets

3. Delta neutral arbitrage strategy

Based on the above data, we can consider using stablecoins to achieve higher returns than traditional investment methods, which is one of the great attractions of blockchain.

Sun Ge has opened his stablecoin track with personal charisma and successfully entered the top 10, but I am skeptical about the sustainability of USDD's 20% yield.

The algorithmic stablecoins Luna and UST that were popular in the last cycle have been eliminated in this cycle.

In this cycle, USDe and USD0 are considered relatively well-performing new stablecoins, but they come with both yield and risk. The corresponding project tokens $ENA and $USUAL tokens may be objects worth our attention (not investment advice).$USDC