SATUSD vs USDS
River Stablecoin and Sky Dollar, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and SATUSD/USDS spread
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River Stablecoin is a dollar-denominated token tracked across 10 chains. No verified issuer disclosure is on file, so its collateral and legal structure score conservatively.
Verdict band: Caution
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 | 45 | 89 | USDS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 55 | 84 | USDS |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $3.23M | $7.78B | USDS |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 48 | 82 | USDS |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.580% | +0.001% | 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 | 53 | 61 | USDS |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $158.27M | $6.72B | USDS |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 10 chains | 4 chains | SATUSD |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | None | 5.82% | 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 (89 vs 45), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. USDS has deeper tracked liquidity ($7.78B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. USDS currently earns up to 5.82% — 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: SATUSD or USDS?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, USDS is the better fit over SATUSD.
- Safety score 89 vs 45, with collateral rated 84/100.
- Current peg deviation 0.001% against -0.580% for SATUSD.
- 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
SATUSD
- 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.
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: 5.82% is earned outside the token itself.
- Chain concentration: 98% of supply sits on Ethereum.
| Metric | SATUSD | USDS |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | $0.9942 | $1.0000 |
| Peg deviation | −0.580% | +0.001% |
| Market cap | $158.27M | $6.72B |
| 7d supply change | −0.00% | +1.17% |
| Liquidity | $3.23M | $7.78B |
| Best yield | None | 5.82% (sky-lending · Ethereum) |
| Chains | 10 | 4 |
| Launched | — | 2024 |
| Worst recorded depeg | None recorded | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (SATUSD vs USDS)
- -58.1 bps
- $0.9942 vs $1.0000
- Peg deviation gap
- 0.579 pp
- SATUSD −0.580% · USDS +0.001%
- Yield spread
- -5.82%
- SATUSD — · USDS 5.82%
- Liquidity ratio
- 0.00×
- $3.23M vs $7.78B
A round trip between SATUSD and USDS costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 58.1 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $5.8K 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 SATUSD and USDS have actually behaved since launch, including every stress event we have on record.
- USDS
Sky Dollar goes live.
Chain coverage
SATUSD is live on 10 chains, USDS on 4. 3 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 8 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | SATUSD | USDS | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $8.39M | $6.61B | Yes | |
| $10.72M | $99.77M | Yes | |
| $80.89M | — | SATUSD only | |
| $32.48M | $2.36M | Yes | |
| $20.24M | — | SATUSD only | |
| — | $8.91M | USDS only | |
| $4.92M | — | SATUSD only | |
| $414.8K | — | SATUSD only | |
| $129.2K | — | SATUSD only | |
| $49.2K | — | SATUSD only | |
| $34.5K | — | SATUSD only |
SATUSD vs USDS: frequently asked questions
Is SATUSD or USDS safer?
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On our composite safety score USDS rates 89/100 versus 45/100 for SATUSD. 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 SATUSD and USDS?
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River Stablecoin is issued by Undisclosed (Not documented), backed by crypto-backed, with redemption terms: market-only. Sky Dollar is issued by Sky (formerly MakerDAO) (Decentralised / Cayman foundation), backed by crypto-overcollateralized, with redemption terms: direct. Attestation coverage is "none" for SATUSD and "onchain" for USDS.
Which has the bigger market cap, SATUSD or USDS?
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USDS is larger at $6.72B in circulating supply, against $158.27M for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved −0.00% for SATUSD and +1.17% for USDS.
Are SATUSD and USDS trading at $1.00 right now?
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SATUSD trades at $0.9942 (−0.580% off peg) and USDS at $1.0000 (+0.001% off peg). The gap between the two is about 58.1 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has SATUSD or USDS ever depegged?
+
SATUSD: 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, SATUSD 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 $3.23M. Combine that with the redemption channel — SATUSD: market-only; USDS: direct — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on SATUSD or USDS?
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USDS currently shows the higher rate at 5.82% via sky-lending · Ethereum, against no tracked rate for SATUSD. 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 SATUSD and USDS?
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Both are deployed on 3 shared networks, including Base, Arbitrum, Ethereum. SATUSD spans 10 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 SATUSD to USDS?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 58.1 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($3.23M for SATUSD, $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 SATUSD or USDS regulated?
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SATUSD is issued from Not documented with none; 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.