USDC vs FDUSD
USD Coin and First Digital USD, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and USDC/FDUSD spread
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Fully reserved dollar token issued by Circle, a US-regulated and MiCA-compliant issuer. Reserves sit in the Circle Reserve Fund (short-dated Treasuries and repo) with monthly attestations and daily reporting.
Verdict band: Strong
Hong Kong-issued dollar token with reserves held in regulated custodians. Liquidity is heavily concentrated on a small number of venues.
Verdict band: Adequate
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 88 | 61 | USDC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 95 | 85 | USDC |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $4.62B | $2.51M | USDC |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 100 | 54 | USDC |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.022% | −0.114% | USDC |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | -12.0% | -8.7% | FDUSD |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 99 | 59 | USDC |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $72.78B | $351.52M | USDC |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 121 chains | 6 chains | USDC |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 25.83% | 3.21% | USDC |
"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
USDC scores higher on safety (88 vs 61), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. USDC has deeper tracked liquidity ($4.62B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. USDC currently earns up to 25.83% — 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: USDC or FDUSD?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, USDC is the better fit over FDUSD.
- Safety score 88 vs 61, with collateral rated 95/100.
- Current peg deviation -0.022% against -0.114% for FDUSD.
- USDC has 1 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
USDC
- Issuer and banking risk: reserves sit with Circle under United States (NYDFS / MiCA) rules.
- Depeg history: 1 recorded event(s), worst deviation -12.00%.
- Attestation cadence: monthly.
- Yield venue risk: 25.83% is earned outside the token itself.
FDUSD
- Issuer and banking risk: reserves sit with First Digital under Hong Kong rules.
- Depeg history: 1 recorded event(s), worst deviation -8.70%.
- Attestation cadence: monthly.
- Yield venue risk: 3.21% is earned outside the token itself.
| Metric | USDC | FDUSD |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Circle | First Digital |
| Jurisdiction | United States (NYDFS / MiCA) | Hong Kong |
| Collateral | treasuries | fiat-reserves |
| Peg mechanism | fiat-backed | fiat-backed |
| Attestation | monthly | monthly |
| Redemption | direct | gated |
| Price | $0.9998 | $0.9989 |
| Peg deviation | −0.022% | −0.114% |
| Market cap | $72.78B | $351.52M |
| 7d supply change | +0.85% | +0.05% |
| Liquidity | $4.62B | $2.51M |
| Best yield | 25.83% (forgeyields · Starknet) | 3.21% (venus-core-pool · BSC) |
| Chains | 121 | 6 |
| Launched | 2018 | 2023 |
| Worst recorded depeg | −12.0% | −8.7% |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (USDC vs FDUSD)
- +9.2 bps
- $0.9998 vs $0.9989
- Peg deviation gap
- -0.091 pp
- USDC −0.022% · FDUSD −0.114%
- Yield spread
- +22.62%
- USDC 25.83% · FDUSD 3.21%
- Liquidity ratio
- 1843.17×
- $4.62B vs $2.51M
A round trip between USDC and FDUSD costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 9.2 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $915.24 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 USDC and FDUSD have actually behaved since launch, including every stress event we have on record.
- USDC
USD Coin goes live.
- USDC
Launched by Circle and Coinbase under the Centre consortium.
- USDC
Freezes Tornado Cash addresses after OFAC sanctions — censorship precedent.
- FDUSD
First Digital USD goes live.
- USDC
Silicon Valley Bank failure strands $3.3B of reserves; USDC trades to ~$0.87.
- USDC
Circle becomes the first major issuer compliant with the EU's MiCA regime.
- FDUSD
Solvency allegations (worst deviation -8.7%).
Chain coverage
USDC is live on 121 chains, FDUSD on 6. 5 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 117 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | USDC | FDUSD | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $46.24B | $242.26M | Yes | |
| $7.19B | $8.52M | Yes | |
| $6.41B | — | USDC only | |
| $4.25B | — | USDC only | |
| $2.21B | $44.7K | Yes | |
| $1.58B | $57.17M | Yes | |
| $1.64B | — | USDC only | |
| $430.94M | — | USDC only | |
| $367.80M | — | USDC only | |
| $297.52M | $43.53M | Yes | |
| $259.50M | — | USDC only | |
| $214.69M | — | USDC only | |
| $198.71M | — | USDC only | |
| $181.37M | — | USDC only | |
| $179.41M | — | USDC only | |
| $150.63M | — | USDC only | |
| $112.09M | — | USDC only | |
| $97.79M | — | USDC only | |
| $63.32M | — | USDC only | |
| $50.52M | — | USDC only |
USDC vs FDUSD: frequently asked questions
Is USDC or FDUSD safer?
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On our composite safety score USDC rates 88/100 versus 61/100 for FDUSD. The score weighs collateral quality (treasuries vs fiat-reserves), 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 USDC and FDUSD?
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USD Coin is issued by Circle (United States (NYDFS / MiCA)), backed by treasuries, with redemption terms: direct. First Digital USD is issued by First Digital (Hong Kong), backed by fiat-reserves, with redemption terms: gated. Attestation coverage is "monthly" for USDC and "monthly" for FDUSD.
Which has the bigger market cap, USDC or FDUSD?
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USDC is larger at $72.78B in circulating supply, against $351.52M for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved +0.85% for USDC and +0.05% for FDUSD.
Are USDC and FDUSD trading at $1.00 right now?
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USDC trades at $0.9998 (−0.022% off peg) and FDUSD at $0.9989 (−0.114% off peg). The gap between the two is about 9.2 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has USDC or FDUSD ever depegged?
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USDC: worst recorded deviation −12.0%. FDUSD: worst recorded deviation −8.7%. 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, USDC or FDUSD?
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For block size the constraint is exit liquidity and primary redemption, not headline supply. USDC shows deeper on-chain liquidity at $4.62B versus $2.51M. Combine that with the redemption channel — USDC: direct; FDUSD: gated — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on USDC or FDUSD?
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USDC currently shows the higher rate at 25.83% via forgeyields · Starknet, against 3.21% via venus-core-pool · BSC for FDUSD. 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 USDC and FDUSD?
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Both are deployed on 5 shared networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, BSC, Sui. USDC spans 121 chains in total and FDUSD spans 6. 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 USDC to FDUSD?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 9.2 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($4.62B for USDC, $2.51M for FDUSD). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is USDC or FDUSD regulated?
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USDC is issued from United States (NYDFS / MiCA) with monthly; FDUSD is issued from Hong Kong with monthly. 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.