PYUSD vs USDS
PayPal USD and Sky Dollar, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and PYUSD/USDS 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: Robust
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: Robust
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 93 | 89 | PYUSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 95 | 84 | PYUSD |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $920.86M | $7.78B | USDS |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 100 | 82 | PYUSD |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.013% | +0.003% | USDS |
| 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 | 61 | PYUSD |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $2.74B | $6.71B | USDS |
| 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 | 9.46% | 5.81% | 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 89), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. USDS has deeper tracked liquidity ($7.78B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. PYUSD currently earns up to 9.46% — 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 USDS?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, PYUSD edges out USDS — but it is close enough that either works.
- Safety score 93 vs 89, with collateral rated 95/100.
- Current peg deviation -0.013% against 0.003% for USDS.
- 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: 9.46% is earned outside the token itself.
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: 5.81% is earned outside the token itself.
- Chain concentration: 98% of supply sits on Ethereum.
| Metric | PYUSD | USDS |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Paxos (for PayPal) | Sky (formerly MakerDAO) |
| Jurisdiction | United States (NYDFS) | Decentralised / Cayman foundation |
| Collateral | treasuries | crypto-overcollateralized |
| Peg mechanism | fiat-backed | crypto-backed |
| Attestation | monthly | onchain |
| Redemption | direct | direct |
| Price | $0.9999 | $1.0000 |
| Peg deviation | −0.013% | +0.003% |
| Market cap | $2.74B | $6.71B |
| 7d supply change | −1.36% | +1.09% |
| Liquidity | $920.86M | $7.78B |
| Best yield | 9.46% (sentora · Ethereum) | 5.81% (sky-lending · Ethereum) |
| Chains | 7 | 4 |
| Launched | 2023 | 2024 |
| Worst recorded depeg | None recorded | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (PYUSD vs USDS)
- -1.6 bps
- $0.9999 vs $1.0000
- Peg deviation gap
- 0.010 pp
- PYUSD −0.013% · USDS +0.003%
- Yield spread
- +3.66%
- PYUSD 9.46% · USDS 5.81%
- Liquidity ratio
- 0.12×
- $920.86M vs $7.78B
A round trip between PYUSD and USDS costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 1.6 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $164.28 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 USDS have actually behaved since launch, including every stress event we have on record.
- PYUSD
PayPal USD goes live.
- USDS
Sky Dollar goes live.
Chain coverage
PYUSD is live on 7 chains, USDS on 4. 3 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 5 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | PYUSD | USDS | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1.80B | $6.60B | Yes | |
| $671.94M | $8.91M | Yes | |
| $189.35M | $99.77M | Yes | |
| $69.72M | — | PYUSD only | |
| $10.33M | — | PYUSD only | |
| $3.37M | — | PYUSD only | |
| — | $2.36M | USDS only | |
| $130.2K | — | PYUSD only |
PYUSD vs USDS: frequently asked questions
Is PYUSD or USDS safer?
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On our composite safety score PYUSD rates 93/100 versus 89/100 for USDS. The score weighs collateral quality (treasuries 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 PYUSD and USDS?
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PayPal USD is issued by Paxos (for PayPal) (United States (NYDFS)), backed by treasuries, 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 "monthly" for PYUSD and "onchain" for USDS.
Which has the bigger market cap, PYUSD or USDS?
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USDS is larger at $6.71B in circulating supply, against $2.74B for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved −1.36% for PYUSD and +1.09% for USDS.
Are PYUSD and USDS trading at $1.00 right now?
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PYUSD trades at $0.9999 (−0.013% off peg) and USDS at $1.0000 (+0.003% off peg). The gap between the two is about 1.6 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has PYUSD or USDS ever depegged?
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PYUSD: no material depeg recorded in our incident set. 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, PYUSD 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 $7.78B versus $920.86M. Combine that with the redemption channel — PYUSD: direct; USDS: direct — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on PYUSD or USDS?
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PYUSD currently shows the higher rate at 9.46% via sentora · Ethereum, against 5.81% via sky-lending · Ethereum for USDS. 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 USDS?
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Both are deployed on 3 shared networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum. PYUSD spans 7 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 PYUSD to USDS?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 1.6 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($920.86M for PYUSD, $7.78B for USDS). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is PYUSD or USDS regulated?
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PYUSD is issued from United States (NYDFS) with monthly; 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.