DAI vs USDS
Dai and Sky Dollar, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and DAI/USDS spread
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The original decentralised dollar. Minted against overcollateralised vaults and stability modules, with all collateral verifiable on-chain.
Verdict band: Strong
Sky's upgraded dollar, overcollateralised on-chain by crypto assets and tokenised real-world credit. Collateral is verifiable on-chain in real time; a large share is now allocated to Treasury-backed exposure.
Verdict band: Strong
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 81 | 88 | USDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 84 | 84 | Tie |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $345.09M | $2.32B | USDS |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 82 | 82 | Tie |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | +0.003% | −0.009% | DAI |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | -7.4% | None recorded | USDS |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 97 | 61 | DAI |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $4.76B | $6.71B | USDS |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 33 chains | 4 chains | DAI |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 4.71% | 6.05% | USDS |
"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
USDS scores higher on safety (88 vs 81), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. USDS has deeper tracked liquidity ($2.32B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. USDS currently earns up to 6.05% — 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 USDS?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, USDS is the better fit over DAI.
- Safety score 88 vs 81, with collateral rated 84/100.
- Current peg deviation -0.009% against 0.003% for DAI.
- No material depeg recorded for USDS in our incident log.
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.
USDS
- 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.
- Attestation cadence: onchain.
- Yield venue risk: 6.05% is earned outside the token itself.
- Chain concentration: 98% of supply sits on Ethereum.
| Metric | DAI | USDS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Sky (formerly MakerDAO) | Sky (formerly MakerDAO) |
| Jurisdiction | Decentralised / Cayman foundation | Decentralised / Cayman foundation |
| Collateral | crypto-overcollateralized | crypto-overcollateralized |
| Peg mechanism | crypto-backed | crypto-backed |
| Attestation | onchain | onchain |
| Redemption | direct | direct |
| Price | $1.0000 | $0.9999 |
| Peg deviation | +0.003% | −0.009% |
| Market cap | $4.76B | $6.71B |
| 7d supply change | −0.55% | +1.18% |
| Liquidity | $345.09M | $2.32B |
| Best yield | 4.71% (flux-finance · Ethereum) | 6.05% (sky-lending · Ethereum) |
| Chains | 33 | 4 |
| Launched | 2017 | 2024 |
| Worst recorded depeg | −7.4% | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (DAI vs USDS)
- +1.2 bps
- $1.0000 vs $0.9999
- Peg deviation gap
- -0.006 pp
- DAI +0.003% · USDS −0.009%
- Yield spread
- -1.34%
- DAI 4.71% · USDS 6.05%
- Liquidity ratio
- 0.15×
- $345.09M vs $2.32B
A round trip between DAI and USDS costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 1.2 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $115.68 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 USDS 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%).
- USDS
Sky Dollar goes live.
Chain coverage
DAI is live on 33 chains, USDS on 4. 3 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 31 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | DAI | USDS | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4.11B | $6.60B | Yes | |
| $516.48M | — | DAI only | |
| $18.78M | $99.76M | Yes | |
| $35.12M | — | DAI only | |
| $31.07M | — | DAI only | |
| $13.69M | — | DAI only | |
| $12.81M | — | DAI only | |
| $10.65M | — | DAI only | |
| $510.3K | $8.89M | Yes | |
| $7.98M | — | DAI only | |
| — | $2.37M | USDS only | |
| $1.89M | — | DAI only | |
| $812.3K | — | 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 | |
| $79.9K | — | DAI only |
DAI vs USDS: frequently asked questions
Is DAI or USDS safer?
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On our composite safety score USDS rates 88/100 versus 81/100 for DAI. The score weighs collateral quality (crypto-overcollateralized vs crypto-overcollateralized), 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 USDS?
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Dai is issued by Sky (formerly MakerDAO) (Decentralised / Cayman foundation), backed by crypto-overcollateralized, with redemption terms: direct. Sky Dollar is issued by Sky (formerly MakerDAO) (Decentralised / Cayman foundation), backed by crypto-overcollateralized, with redemption terms: direct. Attestation coverage is "onchain" for DAI and "onchain" for USDS.
Which has the bigger market cap, DAI or USDS?
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USDS is larger at $6.71B in circulating supply, against $4.76B for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved −0.55% for DAI and +1.18% for USDS.
Are DAI and USDS trading at $1.00 right now?
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DAI trades at $1.0000 (+0.003% off peg) and USDS at $0.9999 (−0.009% off peg). The gap between the two is about 1.2 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has DAI or USDS ever depegged?
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DAI: worst recorded deviation −7.4%. USDS: 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 USDS?
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For block size the constraint is exit liquidity and primary redemption, not headline supply. USDS shows deeper on-chain liquidity at $2.32B versus $345.09M. Combine that with the redemption channel — DAI: direct; USDS: direct — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on DAI or USDS?
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USDS currently shows the higher rate at 6.05% via sky-lending · Ethereum, 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 USDS?
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Both are deployed on 3 shared networks, including Ethereum, Arbitrum, Solana. DAI spans 33 chains in total and USDS spans 4. 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 USDS?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 1.2 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($345.09M for DAI, $2.32B for USDS). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is DAI or USDS regulated?
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DAI is issued from Decentralised / Cayman foundation with onchain; USDS 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.