PYUSD vs U
PayPal USD and United Stables, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and PYUSD/U spread
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Issued by NYDFS-regulated Paxos on behalf of PayPal. Reserves are US Treasuries, reverse repo and cash, held in bankruptcy-remote accounts with monthly attestations.
Verdict band: Strong
United Stables is a dollar-denominated token tracked across 4 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 | 93 | 72 | PYUSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 95 | 55 | PYUSD |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $486.09M | $38.63B | U |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 100 | 48 | PYUSD |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.016% | −0.067% | PYUSD |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | None recorded | None recorded | Tie |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 69 | 53 | PYUSD |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $2.85B | $1.56B | PYUSD |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 7 chains | 4 chains | PYUSD |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 10.77% | 8.00% | PYUSD |
"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
PYUSD scores higher on safety (93 vs 72), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. U has deeper tracked liquidity ($38.63B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. PYUSD currently earns up to 10.77% — 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: PYUSD or U?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, PYUSD is the better fit over U.
- Safety score 93 vs 72, with collateral rated 95/100.
- Current peg deviation -0.016% against -0.067% for U.
- No material depeg recorded for PYUSD 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
PYUSD
- Issuer and banking risk: reserves sit with Paxos (for PayPal) under United States (NYDFS) rules.
- No depeg recorded in our incident log — absence of history is not a guarantee.
- Attestation cadence: monthly.
- Yield venue risk: 10.77% is earned outside the token itself.
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: 71% of supply sits on BSC.
| Metric | PYUSD | U |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Paxos (for PayPal) | Undisclosed |
| Jurisdiction | United States (NYDFS) | Not documented |
| Collateral | treasuries | crypto-backed |
| Peg mechanism | fiat-backed | crypto-backed |
| Attestation | monthly | none |
| Redemption | direct | market-only |
| Price | $0.9998 | $0.9993 |
| Peg deviation | −0.016% | −0.067% |
| Market cap | $2.85B | $1.56B |
| 7d supply change | +5.51% | +6.32% |
| Liquidity | $486.09M | $38.63B |
| Best yield | 10.77% (sentora-curator · Ethereum) | 8.00% (bitway-earn · BSC) |
| Chains | 7 | 4 |
| Launched | 2023 | — |
| Worst recorded depeg | None recorded | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (PYUSD vs U)
- +5.1 bps
- $0.9998 vs $0.9993
- Peg deviation gap
- -0.051 pp
- PYUSD −0.016% · U −0.067%
- Yield spread
- +2.77%
- PYUSD 10.77% · U 8.00%
- Liquidity ratio
- 0.01×
- $486.09M vs $38.63B
A round trip between PYUSD and U costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 5.1 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $510.78 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 PYUSD and U have actually behaved since launch, including every stress event we have on record.
- PYUSD
PayPal USD goes live.
Chain coverage
PYUSD is live on 7 chains, U on 4. 1 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 9 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | PYUSD | U | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.66B | $365.91M | Yes | |
| — | $1.11B | U only | |
| $742.76M | — | PYUSD only | |
| $364.38M | — | PYUSD only | |
| $69.08M | — | PYUSD only | |
| — | $54.96M | U only | |
| — | $29.98M | U only | |
| $10.38M | — | PYUSD only | |
| $2.36M | — | PYUSD only | |
| $130.7K | — | PYUSD only |
PYUSD vs U: frequently asked questions
Is PYUSD or U safer?
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On our composite safety score PYUSD rates 93/100 versus 72/100 for U. The score weighs collateral quality (treasuries 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 PYUSD and U?
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PayPal USD is issued by Paxos (for PayPal) (United States (NYDFS)), backed by treasuries, with redemption terms: direct. United Stables is issued by Undisclosed (Not documented), backed by crypto-backed, with redemption terms: market-only. Attestation coverage is "monthly" for PYUSD and "none" for U.
Which has the bigger market cap, PYUSD or U?
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PYUSD is larger at $2.85B in circulating supply, against $1.56B for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved +5.51% for PYUSD and +6.32% for U.
Are PYUSD and U trading at $1.00 right now?
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PYUSD trades at $0.9998 (−0.016% off peg) and U at $0.9993 (−0.067% off peg). The gap between the two is about 5.1 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has PYUSD or U ever depegged?
+
PYUSD: no material depeg recorded in our incident set. 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, PYUSD or U?
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For block size the constraint is exit liquidity and primary redemption, not headline supply. U shows deeper on-chain liquidity at $38.63B versus $486.09M. Combine that with the redemption channel — PYUSD: direct; U: market-only — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on PYUSD or U?
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PYUSD currently shows the higher rate at 10.77% via sentora-curator · Ethereum, against 8.00% via bitway-earn · BSC for U. 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 PYUSD and U?
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Both are deployed on 1 shared network, including Ethereum. PYUSD spans 7 chains in total and U 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 PYUSD to U?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 5.1 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($486.09M for PYUSD, $38.63B for U). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is PYUSD or U regulated?
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PYUSD is issued from United States (NYDFS) with monthly; 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.