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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.
Rank 12NewNew entry
#12 in Stablecoins
of 16 ranked entries
Binance USD (BUSD)
Paxos (for Binance) · Launched 2019
BUSD was a fiat-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos until the New York Department of Financial Services ordered Paxos to stop minting new tokens in February 2023, a real and consequential example of regulatory action directly affecting a major stablecoin’s issuance. Recorded specifics: launched 2019, peg USD 1:1 (issuance halted 2023), collateral model Fiat-backed. Panel highlighted existing tokens remained redeemable at par even after new issuance was halted, demonstrated that a regulated issuer will comply with a direct regulatory order and reserve backing was never the disputed issue in the regulatory action. The reservation on record is a direct 2023 regulatory order halted new issuance entirely — a concrete, documented regulatory-risk event.
Fiat-backedRegulatory scrutiny
Score breakdown
How Binance USD (BUSD) earned 78.4
Each criterion is scored independently, then combined using the weights published on Stablecoins.
- Collateral transparencyweight 30%
- 79.3
- Peg track recordweight 25%
- 80.7
- Regulatory standingweight 25%
- 75.8
- Integration breadthweight 20%
- 77.2
“A direct 2023 regulatory order halted new issuance entirely — the clearest documented regulatory-risk event on this list.”
— Top 49, on Stablecoins
On the record
Recorded detail
| Launched | 2019 |
|---|---|
| Peg | USD 1:1 (issuance halted 2023) |
| Collateral model | Fiat-backed |
| Issuer | Paxos (for Binance) |
Panel verdict
Strengths and reservations
What it gets right
- Existing tokens remained redeemable at par even after new issuance was halted
- Demonstrated that a regulated issuer will comply with a direct regulatory order
- Reserve backing was never the disputed issue in the regulatory action
Where it gives ground
- A direct 2023 regulatory order halted new issuance entirely — a concrete, documented regulatory-risk event
1 appearance
Where this entry ranks
From the same list
Ranked alongside it
Rank 01Editor’s pickDai (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 4
Rank 02Editor’s pickFirst 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 1
Rank 03Editor’s pickTrueUSD (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
Rank 04PayPal USD (PYUSD)
PayPal / Paxos · Launched 2023
PayPal USD is structured and issued by Paxos, a regulated trust company, under PayPal’s brand — giving it a structurally direct connection to an established, regulated consumer payments company that most stablecoins lack.
90.8/100 Top 49 score1Up 1
Rank 05Pax Dollar (USDP)
Paxos · Launched 2018
Pax Dollar is structured with reserves held in cash and cash equivalents under Paxos’s regulated New York trust charter, one of the more conservative regulatory structures among fiat-backed stablecoins on this list.
90.2/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Rank 06Gemini Dollar (GUSD)
Gemini Trust · Launched 2018
Gemini Dollar is issued directly by Gemini Trust Company under New York Department of Financial Services oversight, structurally tying its regulatory standing to the same regulator that oversees several traditional New York-chartered banks.
87.0/100 Top 49 score3Up 3
Rank 07Frax (FRAX)
Frax Finance · Launched 2020
Frax pioneered a fractional-algorithmic model, structurally backed partly by collateral and partly by algorithmic mechanisms, before the protocol later moved toward full collateralization — a structural evolution driven directly by observing weaker algorithmic models fail elsewhere.
85.1/100 Top 49 scoreNewNew entry
Rank 08Editor’s pickUSDD
TRON DAO Reserve · Launched 2022
USDD is structured as an over-collateralized stablecoin backed by a reserve of crypto assets managed by the TRON DAO Reserve, launched shortly after a widely publicized algorithmic-stablecoin collapse elsewhere in the industry that same year.
85.0/100 Top 49 score2Down 2
Explore more of Top 49
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.