DAI vs U
Dai and United Stables, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and DAI/U spread
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The original decentralised dollar. Minted against overcollateralised vaults and stability modules, with all collateral verifiable on-chain.
Verdict band: Robust
United Stables 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
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 85 | 73 | DAI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 84 | 55 | DAI |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $1.11B | $39.47B | U |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 82 | 48 | DAI |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.009% | −0.053% | DAI |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | -7.4% | None recorded | U |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 97 | 53 | DAI |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $4.77B | $1.26B | DAI |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 35 chains | 3 chains | DAI |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 4.71% | 8.00% | U |
"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 73), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. U has deeper tracked liquidity ($39.47B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. U currently earns up to 8.00% — 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: DAI or U?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, DAI is the better fit over U.
- Safety score 85 vs 73, with collateral rated 84/100.
- Current peg deviation -0.009% against -0.053% for U.
- 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
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.
U
- 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: 8.00% is earned outside the token itself.
- Chain concentration: 81% of supply sits on BSC.
| Metric | DAI | U |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Sky (formerly MakerDAO) | Undisclosed |
| Jurisdiction | Decentralised / Cayman foundation | Not documented |
| Collateral | crypto-overcollateralized | crypto-backed |
| Peg mechanism | crypto-backed | crypto-backed |
| Attestation | onchain | none |
| Redemption | direct | market-only |
| Price | $0.9999 | $0.9995 |
| Peg deviation | −0.009% | −0.053% |
| Market cap | $4.77B | $1.26B |
| 7d supply change | −0.54% | +3.64% |
| Liquidity | $1.11B | $39.47B |
| Best yield | 4.71% (flux-finance · Ethereum) | 8.00% (bitway-earn · BSC) |
| Chains | 35 | 3 |
| Launched | 2017 | — |
| Worst recorded depeg | −7.4% | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (DAI vs U)
- +4.3 bps
- $0.9999 vs $0.9995
- Peg deviation gap
- -0.043 pp
- DAI −0.009% · U −0.053%
- Yield spread
- -3.29%
- DAI 4.71% · U 8.00%
- Liquidity ratio
- 0.03×
- $1.11B vs $39.47B
A round trip between DAI and U costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 4.3 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $431.37 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 DAI and U 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
DAI is live on 35 chains, U on 3. 2 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 34 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | DAI | U | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4.11B | $181.50M | Yes | |
| $31.07M | $1.02B | Yes | |
| $519.50M | — | DAI only | |
| — | $54.97M | U only | |
| $35.11M | — | DAI only | |
| $18.77M | — | DAI only | |
| $13.69M | — | DAI only | |
| $12.61M | — | DAI only | |
| $10.65M | — | DAI only | |
| $7.98M | — | DAI only | |
| $1.89M | — | DAI only | |
| $813.3K | — | DAI only | |
| $734.8K | — | DAI only | |
| $510.3K | — | DAI only | |
| $373.9K | — | DAI only | |
| $195.9K | — | DAI only | |
| $158.2K | — | DAI only | |
| $117.0K | — | DAI only | |
| $103.8K | — | DAI only | |
| $91.4K | — | DAI only |
DAI vs U: frequently asked questions
Is DAI or U safer?
+
On our composite safety score DAI rates 85/100 versus 73/100 for U. 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 DAI and U?
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Dai is issued by Sky (formerly MakerDAO) (Decentralised / Cayman foundation), backed by crypto-overcollateralized, with redemption terms: direct. United Stables is issued by Undisclosed (Not documented), backed by crypto-backed, with redemption terms: market-only. Attestation coverage is "onchain" for DAI and "none" for U.
Which has the bigger market cap, DAI or U?
+
DAI is larger at $4.77B in circulating supply, against $1.26B for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved −0.54% for DAI and +3.64% for U.
Are DAI and U trading at $1.00 right now?
+
DAI trades at $0.9999 (−0.009% off peg) and U at $0.9995 (−0.053% off peg). The gap between the two is about 4.3 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has DAI or U ever depegged?
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DAI: worst recorded deviation −7.4%. U: no material depeg recorded in our incident set. 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, DAI or U?
+
For block size the constraint is exit liquidity and primary redemption, not headline supply. U shows deeper on-chain liquidity at $39.47B versus $1.11B. Combine that with the redemption channel — DAI: direct; U: market-only — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on DAI or U?
+
U currently shows the higher rate at 8.00% via bitway-earn · BSC, against 4.71% via flux-finance · Ethereum for DAI. 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 DAI and U?
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Both are deployed on 2 shared networks, including Ethereum, BSC. DAI spans 35 chains in total and U spans 3. 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 DAI to U?
+
Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 4.3 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($1.11B for DAI, $39.47B for U). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is DAI or U regulated?
+
DAI is issued from Decentralised / Cayman foundation with onchain; U is issued from Not documented with none. 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.