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Preview data: all rankings, scores, votes, refresh labels, methodology, testing and editorial-process statements in Top 49 are illustrative demo content, not live measurements or documented reviews.
Crypto · refreshed monthly
Top Stablecoins
Collateral models and peg mechanics — including the ones that broke
A stablecoin’s entire promise is that it will not move, which makes the mechanism behind that promise — what actually backs it and how reliably — the only thing worth evaluating. This ranking is informational only, not financial advice, and several entries below are included specifically because their peg failed at some point, which is genuinely useful structural information about how different collateral models behave under stress. Cryptocurrency, including stablecoins, remains a high-risk, highly volatile asset class; a stable price target is a design goal, not a guarantee, and this list does not recommend holding any of these assets.
16Entries ranked
242KReader votes
1 Jul 2026Data as of
The top three
Leading the list
Rank 01Editor’s pick
Dai (DAI)
MakerDAO / Sky · Launched 2017
Dai is structured as an over-collateralized stablecoin backed primarily by crypto assets locked in smart contracts rather than a bank account, meaning holders can verify collateral levels directly on-chain rather than relying on an issuer’s word.
95.0/100 Top 49 score4Up 4Rank 02Editor’s pick
First Digital USD (FDUSD)
First Digital Labs · Launched 2023
FDUSD is structured as a fiat-backed stablecoin held in trust accounts, and it gained significant exchange integration quickly following Binance’s 2023 promotional support after regulatory pressure on a previous stablecoin partner.
94.9/100 Top 49 score1Down 1Rank 03Editor’s pick
TrueUSD (TUSD)
TrueCoin · Launched 2018
TrueUSD was structured as one of the earliest fiat-backed stablecoins to use third-party escrow accounts rather than issuer-controlled ones, an early attempt at reducing single-party control over reserves.
92.9/100 Top 49 score4Up 4
Full ranking
All 16 ranked
Filter, re-sort or switch view — every combination is a shareable URL.
Showing 13–16 of 16 ranked entries.
- Rank 13. Tether Gold (XAUT). Score 76.8 out of 100.1Down 1
Tether Gold (XAUT)
Tether · Launched 2020
Tether Gold is structured differently from every other entry here — each token represents a claim on one troy ounce of physical gold held in a Swiss vault, a commodity peg rather than a currency one.
- Launched
- 2020
- Peg
- 1 troy ounce of gold
- Collateral model
- Commodity-backed
76.8/100 Top 49 score - Rank 14. Pax Gold (PAXG). Score 74.2 out of 100.1Up 1
Pax Gold (PAXG)
Paxos · Launched 2019
Pax Gold is structured similarly to Tether Gold — one token per troy ounce of physical gold — but issued under Paxos’s regulated New York trust charter, giving it a different regulatory backbone than its main commodity-backed competitor.
- Launched
- 2019
- Peg
- 1 troy ounce of gold
- Collateral model
- Commodity-backed
74.2/100 Top 49 score - Rank 15. Neutrino USD (USDN). Score 73.2 out of 100.1Down 1
Neutrino USD (USDN)
Waves / Neutrino Protocol · Launched 2020
Neutrino USD was structured as an algorithmic stablecoin collateralized by the Waves blockchain’s native token, and it lost its dollar peg during a 2022 liquidity crisis, remaining depegged for an extended period afterward — a direct, documented example of algorithmic-model fragility.
- Launched
- 2020
- Peg
- USD 1:1 (depegged 2022, not fully restored)
- Collateral model
- Crypto-collateralized (algorithmic)
73.2/100 Top 49 scoreLost its peg in 2022 and never fully recovered — included specifically because that history is instructive about algorithmic-model fragility.
- Rank 16. sUSD (Synthetix USD). Score 72.3 out of 100.—No change
sUSD (Synthetix USD)
Synthetix · Launched 2018
sUSD is structured as an over-collateralized synthetic asset backed by the Synthetix protocol’s own SNX token, minted by stakers against a high collateralization ratio designed to absorb significant price swings in the underlying collateral.
- Launched
- 2018
- Peg
- USD 1:1
- Collateral model
- Crypto-collateralized (SNX-backed)
72.3/100 Top 49 score
How this list is scored
Four criteria, weighted before the first entry
Entries are scored on collateral transparency and structural peg design; assets with documented depeg events are included deliberately, as their history is instructive about model risk rather than disqualifying.
- Collateral transparency 30%
- Frequency and independence of reserve attestations or on-chain collateral verification.
- Peg track record 25%
- Historical consistency of maintaining the stated peg, including any documented failures.
- Regulatory standing 25%
- Clarity of the issuer’s regulatory status in major jurisdictions.
- Integration breadth 20%
- How widely the asset is supported across exchanges, wallets and applications.
Questions
About this ranking
Does “stable” mean a stablecoin cannot lose value?
No, and this list includes several examples that lost their peg to demonstrate exactly that. A stable price is a design target backed by a specific mechanism, not a guarantee, and every mechanism here has structural failure modes worth understanding.
Is this list recommending any stablecoin for holding or payments?
No. Top 49 does not provide financial advice, and this ranking is informational only. It describes how each asset is structured, not whether you should use or hold it.
What is the structural difference between fiat-backed and algorithmic stablecoins?
Fiat-backed stablecoins hold reserves (cash, Treasuries) equal to the tokens in circulation. Algorithmic and partially collateralized models instead use code and market incentives to defend the peg, a structurally more fragile mechanism that has failed publicly more than once.
Why are BUSD and Neutrino USD included if they had problems?
Because their histories are genuinely instructive. BUSD’s issuance was ordered stopped by New York regulators in 2023, and Neutrino USD depegged in 2022 — both are real, documented examples of the structural risks other entries on this list are also exposed to.
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Top 49 rankings are editorial. Scores are produced from the published criteria on each list and are refreshed on the cadence stated there. Figures shown across this section are curated demonstration data.