CUSD vs DAI
Cap cUSD and Dai, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and CUSD/DAI spread
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Cap cUSD is a dollar-denominated token tracked across 3 chains. No verified issuer disclosure is on file, so its collateral and legal structure score conservatively.
Verdict band: Adequate
The original decentralised dollar. Minted against overcollateralised vaults and stability modules, with all collateral verifiable on-chain.
Verdict band: Robust
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 70 | 85 | DAI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 55 | 84 | DAI |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $131.89M | $1.11B | DAI |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 48 | 82 | DAI |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.020% | +0.007% | DAI |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | None recorded | -7.4% | CUSD |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 53 | 97 | DAI |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $90.12M | $4.77B | DAI |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 3 chains | 35 chains | DAI |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 0.00% | 4.71% | DAI |
"Matters" is our weighting of how much each dimension typically drives a real allocation decision. Sort any column to re-rank the tradeoffs by what matters to you.
The short answer
DAI scores higher on safety (85 vs 70), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. DAI has deeper tracked liquidity ($1.11B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. DAI currently earns up to 4.71% — remember that any rate above the T-bill yield is payment for a risk.
If both are fiat-reserve tokens, note that holding both is not diversification: they share the same short-dated Treasury and banking exposure. Genuine diversification means mixing collateral structures.
Which one fits your goal: CUSD or DAI?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, DAI is the better fit over CUSD.
- Safety score 85 vs 70, with collateral rated 84/100.
- Current peg deviation 0.007% against -0.020% for CUSD.
- DAI has 2 recorded depeg event(s) — read them before sizing up.
Concentrating in one issuer is a single point of failure regardless of score. Split across collateral structures.
Key risks, side by side
CUSD
- Collateral volatility: a fast drawdown in backing assets can force liquidations.
- No depeg recorded in our incident log — absence of history is not a guarantee.
- Limited public attestation of reserves.
- Yield venue risk: 0.00% is earned outside the token itself.
- Chain concentration: 100% of supply sits on Ethereum.
DAI
- Collateral volatility: a fast drawdown in backing assets can force liquidations.
- Depeg history: 2 recorded event(s), worst deviation -7.40%.
- Attestation cadence: onchain.
- Yield venue risk: 4.71% is earned outside the token itself.
- Chain concentration: 86% of supply sits on Ethereum.
| Metric | CUSD | DAI |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Undisclosed | Sky (formerly MakerDAO) |
| Jurisdiction | Not documented | Decentralised / Cayman foundation |
| Collateral | crypto-backed | crypto-overcollateralized |
| Peg mechanism | crypto-backed | crypto-backed |
| Attestation | none | onchain |
| Redemption | market-only | direct |
| Price | $0.9998 | $1.0001 |
| Peg deviation | −0.020% | +0.007% |
| Market cap | $90.12M | $4.77B |
| 7d supply change | −3.40% | −0.50% |
| Liquidity | $131.89M | $1.11B |
| Best yield | 0.00% (moola-market · Celo) | 4.71% (flux-finance · Ethereum) |
| Chains | 3 | 35 |
| Launched | — | 2017 |
| Worst recorded depeg | None recorded | −7.4% |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (CUSD vs DAI)
- -2.7 bps
- $0.9998 vs $1.0001
- Peg deviation gap
- 0.013 pp
- CUSD −0.020% · DAI +0.007%
- Yield spread
- -4.71%
- CUSD 0.00% · DAI 4.71%
- Liquidity ratio
- 0.12×
- $131.89M vs $1.11B
A round trip between CUSD and DAI costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 2.7 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $274.29 of price impact before fees — usually only worth it if the peg gap or yield spread is durable, not intraday noise.
Historical context
Track record is the part of a stablecoin you cannot model — it has to be observed. Here is how CUSD and DAI have actually behaved since launch, including every stress event we have on record.
- DAI
Dai goes live.
- DAI
Single-collateral Dai launches on Ethereum.
- DAI
Black Thursday: liquidation failures leave MakerDAO with bad debt.
- DAI
Collateral mix tilts heavily toward USDC, importing centralised risk.
- DAI
USDC contagion via PSM (worst deviation -7.4%).
Chain coverage
CUSD is live on 3 chains, DAI on 35. 1 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 36 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | CUSD | DAI | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $90.04M | $4.11B | Yes | |
| — | $519.59M | DAI only | |
| — | $35.12M | DAI only | |
| — | $31.07M | DAI only | |
| — | $18.78M | DAI only | |
| — | $13.69M | DAI only | |
| — | $12.61M | DAI only | |
| — | $10.65M | DAI only | |
| — | $7.98M | DAI only | |
| — | $1.89M | DAI only | |
| — | $813.4K | DAI only | |
| — | $734.9K | DAI only | |
| — | $510.4K | DAI only | |
| — | $374.0K | DAI only | |
| — | $195.9K | DAI only | |
| — | $158.2K | DAI only | |
| — | $117.0K | DAI only | |
| — | $103.8K | DAI only | |
| — | $91.4K | DAI only | |
| — | $79.9K | DAI only |
CUSD vs DAI: frequently asked questions
Is CUSD or DAI safer?
+
On our composite safety score DAI rates 85/100 versus 70/100 for CUSD. The score weighs collateral quality (crypto-overcollateralized vs crypto-backed), redemption rights, attestation quality, peg history and liquidity depth. A higher score is not a guarantee: both remain issuer-credit and smart-contract exposures, not insured bank deposits.
What is the difference between CUSD and DAI?
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Cap cUSD is issued by Undisclosed (Not documented), backed by crypto-backed, with redemption terms: market-only. Dai is issued by Sky (formerly MakerDAO) (Decentralised / Cayman foundation), backed by crypto-overcollateralized, with redemption terms: direct. Attestation coverage is "none" for CUSD and "onchain" for DAI.
Which has the bigger market cap, CUSD or DAI?
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DAI is larger at $4.77B in circulating supply, against $90.12M for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved −3.40% for CUSD and −0.50% for DAI.
Are CUSD and DAI trading at $1.00 right now?
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CUSD trades at $0.9998 (−0.020% off peg) and DAI at $1.0001 (+0.007% off peg). The gap between the two is about 2.7 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has CUSD or DAI ever depegged?
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CUSD: no material depeg recorded in our incident set. DAI: worst recorded deviation −7.4%. Past peg behaviour under stress is the single best available proxy for how a token trades in the next crisis.
Which is better for large institutional size, CUSD or DAI?
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For block size the constraint is exit liquidity and primary redemption, not headline supply. DAI shows deeper on-chain liquidity at $1.11B versus $131.89M. Combine that with the redemption channel — CUSD: market-only; DAI: direct — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on CUSD or DAI?
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DAI currently shows the higher rate at 4.71% via flux-finance · Ethereum, against 0.00% via moola-market · Celo for CUSD. Neither token pays interest by holding it in a wallet: the yield comes from lending, liquidity provision or a wrapped yield-bearing version, each with its own counterparty and contract risk.
Which chains support both CUSD and DAI?
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Both are deployed on 1 shared network, including Ethereum. CUSD spans 3 chains in total and DAI spans 35. Bridged supply on a chain is not the same as natively issued supply, and it usually carries the bridge's risk rather than the issuer's.
What does it cost to switch from CUSD to DAI?
+
Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 2.7 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($131.89M for CUSD, $1.11B for DAI). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is CUSD or DAI regulated?
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CUSD is issued from Not documented with none; DAI is issued from Decentralised / Cayman foundation with onchain. Regulatory status varies by your own jurisdiction and by whether the token is offered under a specific stablecoin regime, so treat this as a starting point for diligence, not legal advice.