USDC vs PYUSD
USD Coin and PayPal USD, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and USDC/PYUSD 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
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
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 88 | 92 | PYUSD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 95 | 95 | Tie |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $4.62B | $325.75M | USDC |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 100 | 100 | Tie |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.022% | +0.003% | PYUSD |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | -12.0% | None recorded | PYUSD |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 99 | 69 | USDC |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $72.78B | $2.77B | USDC |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 121 chains | 7 chains | USDC |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 25.83% | 10.00% | 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
PYUSD scores higher on safety (92 vs 88), 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 PYUSD?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, PYUSD is the better fit over USDC.
- Safety score 92 vs 88, with collateral rated 95/100.
- Current peg deviation 0.003% against -0.022% for USDC.
- 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
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.
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: 10.00% is earned outside the token itself.
| Metric | USDC | PYUSD |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Circle | Paxos (for PayPal) |
| Jurisdiction | United States (NYDFS / MiCA) | United States (NYDFS) |
| Collateral | treasuries | treasuries |
| Peg mechanism | fiat-backed | fiat-backed |
| Attestation | monthly | monthly |
| Redemption | direct | direct |
| Price | $0.9998 | $1.0000 |
| Peg deviation | −0.022% | +0.003% |
| Market cap | $72.78B | $2.77B |
| 7d supply change | +0.85% | −0.43% |
| Liquidity | $4.62B | $325.75M |
| Best yield | 25.83% (forgeyields · Starknet) | 10.00% (sentora · Ethereum) |
| Chains | 121 | 7 |
| Launched | 2018 | 2023 |
| Worst recorded depeg | −12.0% | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (USDC vs PYUSD)
- -2.6 bps
- $0.9998 vs $1.0000
- Peg deviation gap
- 0.019 pp
- USDC −0.022% · PYUSD +0.003%
- Yield spread
- +15.83%
- USDC 25.83% · PYUSD 10.00%
- Liquidity ratio
- 14.18×
- $4.62B vs $325.75M
A round trip between USDC and PYUSD costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 2.6 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $255.25 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 PYUSD 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.
- PYUSD
PayPal 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.
Chain coverage
USDC is live on 121 chains, PYUSD on 7. 7 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 114 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | USDC | PYUSD | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $46.24B | $1.83B | Yes | |
| $7.19B | $668.34M | Yes | |
| $6.41B | — | USDC only | |
| $4.25B | — | USDC only | |
| $2.21B | $188.92M | Yes | |
| $1.64B | $10.34M | Yes | |
| $1.58B | — | USDC only | |
| $430.94M | — | USDC only | |
| $367.80M | — | USDC only | |
| $297.52M | — | USDC only | |
| $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 | |
| $3.07M | $69.79M | Yes | |
| $63.32M | — | USDC only |
USDC vs PYUSD: frequently asked questions
Is USDC or PYUSD safer?
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On our composite safety score PYUSD rates 92/100 versus 88/100 for USDC. The score weighs collateral quality (treasuries vs treasuries), 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 PYUSD?
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USD Coin is issued by Circle (United States (NYDFS / MiCA)), backed by treasuries, with redemption terms: direct. PayPal USD is issued by Paxos (for PayPal) (United States (NYDFS)), backed by treasuries, with redemption terms: direct. Attestation coverage is "monthly" for USDC and "monthly" for PYUSD.
Which has the bigger market cap, USDC or PYUSD?
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USDC is larger at $72.78B in circulating supply, against $2.77B for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved +0.85% for USDC and −0.43% for PYUSD.
Are USDC and PYUSD trading at $1.00 right now?
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USDC trades at $0.9998 (−0.022% off peg) and PYUSD at $1.0000 (+0.003% off peg). The gap between the two is about 2.6 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has USDC or PYUSD ever depegged?
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USDC: worst recorded deviation −12.0%. PYUSD: 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, USDC or PYUSD?
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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 $325.75M. Combine that with the redemption channel — USDC: direct; PYUSD: direct — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on USDC or PYUSD?
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USDC currently shows the higher rate at 25.83% via forgeyields · Starknet, against 10.00% via sentora · Ethereum for PYUSD. 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 PYUSD?
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Both are deployed on 7 shared networks, including Ethereum, Solana, Arbitrum, Polygon, Sei, Berachain. USDC spans 121 chains in total and PYUSD spans 7. 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 PYUSD?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 2.6 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($4.62B for USDC, $325.75M for PYUSD). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is USDC or PYUSD regulated?
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USDC is issued from United States (NYDFS / MiCA) with monthly; PYUSD is issued from United States (NYDFS) 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.