USDC vs ZKUSD
USD Coin and zkUSD Dollar, compared on the things that decide whether you get your dollar back. Live data, updated continuously.
30-day peg gap and USDC/ZKUSD 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: Robust
zkUSD Dollar is a dollar-denominated token tracked across 1 chains. No verified issuer disclosure is on file, so its collateral and legal structure score conservatively.
Verdict band: Caution
| Safety scoreComposite of collateral, peg, liquidity, issuer and track record. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 91 | 53 | USDC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Collateral qualityWhat actually backs the token, and how liquid that backing is. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | 95 | 55 | USDC |
| Exit liquidityWhether you can leave at size without moving the price. | ●●●●●5 of 5 | $9.30B | $0.00 | USDC |
| Issuer & legal standingRegulatory perimeter, disclosure quality and redemption rights. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 100 | 48 | USDC |
| Peg tightness (live)Absolute distance from $1.00 right now — smaller is better. | ●●●●4 of 5 | −0.029% | −0.029% | Tie |
| Worst recorded depegHow badly the token has broken before, as a stress precedent. | ●●●●4 of 5 | -12.0% | None recorded | ZKUSD |
| Track recordYears live and behaviour through past stress events. | ●●●●4 of 5 | 99 | 53 | USDC |
| Scale / market capBigger float usually means broader venue support and tighter spreads. | ●●●3 of 5 | $71.95B | $1.18M | USDC |
| Chain reachNumber of networks where the token is natively deployed. | ●●●3 of 5 | 123 chains | 1 chains | USDC |
| Best available yieldUpside — but every extra point above T-bills is paid for with risk. | ●●2 of 5 | 21.63% | None | 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 (91 vs 53), driven mainly by collateral quality and disclosure. USDC has deeper tracked liquidity ($9.30B), which is what determines whether you can exit at size. USDC currently earns up to 21.63% — 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 ZKUSD?
Capital preservation over everything else.
For park cash safely, USDC is the better fit over ZKUSD.
- Safety score 91 vs 53, with collateral rated 95/100.
- Current peg deviation -0.029% against -0.029% for ZKUSD.
- 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: 21.63% is earned outside the token itself.
ZKUSD
- 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.
- Chain concentration: 100% of supply sits on ZKsync Era.
| Metric | USDC | ZKUSD |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Stablecoin | Stablecoin |
| Issuer | Circle | Undisclosed |
| Jurisdiction | United States (NYDFS / MiCA) | Not documented |
| Collateral | treasuries | crypto-backed |
| Peg mechanism | fiat-backed | crypto-backed |
| Attestation | monthly | none |
| Redemption | direct | market-only |
| Price | $0.9997 | $0.9997 |
| Peg deviation | −0.029% | −0.029% |
| Market cap | $71.95B | $1.18M |
| 7d supply change | −0.51% | 0.00% |
| Liquidity | $9.30B | $0.00 |
| Best yield | 21.63% (neutral-trade · Solana) | None |
| Chains | 123 | 1 |
| Launched | 2018 | — |
| Worst recorded depeg | −12.0% | None recorded |
Spread, peg gap and switching cost
- Price spread (USDC vs ZKUSD)
- +0.0 bps
- $0.9997 vs $0.9997
- Peg deviation gap
- 0.000 pp
- USDC −0.029% · ZKUSD −0.029%
- Yield spread
- +21.63%
- USDC 21.63% · ZKUSD —
- Liquidity ratio
- —
- $9.30B vs $0.00
A round trip between USDC and ZKUSD costs roughly the market spread plus venue fees. At 0.0 bps of price gap, swapping $1M implies about $0.00 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 ZKUSD 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.
- 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 123 chains, ZKUSD on 1. 1 chains carry both, so bridging is only unavoidable for the 122 networks where just one of them is deployed.
| Chain | USDC | ZKUSD | Both available |
|---|---|---|---|
| $46.21B | — | USDC only | |
| $6.78B | — | USDC only | |
| $6.04B | — | USDC only | |
| $4.24B | — | USDC only | |
| $2.22B | — | USDC only | |
| $1.63B | — | USDC only | |
| $1.58B | — | USDC only | |
| $452.12M | — | USDC only | |
| $340.32M | — | USDC only | |
| $297.76M | — | USDC only | |
| $256.68M | — | USDC only | |
| $220.81M | — | USDC only | |
| $184.67M | — | USDC only | |
| $181.35M | — | USDC only | |
| $179.39M | — | USDC only | |
| $153.29M | — | USDC only | |
| $112.26M | — | USDC only | |
| $99.16M | — | USDC only | |
| $79.67M | — | USDC only | |
| $50.40M | — | USDC only |
USDC vs ZKUSD: frequently asked questions
Is USDC or ZKUSD safer?
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On our composite safety score USDC rates 91/100 versus 53/100 for ZKUSD. 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 USDC and ZKUSD?
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USD Coin is issued by Circle (United States (NYDFS / MiCA)), backed by treasuries, with redemption terms: direct. zkUSD Dollar is issued by Undisclosed (Not documented), backed by crypto-backed, with redemption terms: market-only. Attestation coverage is "monthly" for USDC and "none" for ZKUSD.
Which has the bigger market cap, USDC or ZKUSD?
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USDC is larger at $71.95B in circulating supply, against $1.18M for the other. Over the last 7 days supply moved −0.51% for USDC and 0.00% for ZKUSD.
Are USDC and ZKUSD trading at $1.00 right now?
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USDC trades at $0.9997 (−0.029% off peg) and ZKUSD at $0.9997 (−0.029% off peg). The gap between the two is about 0.0 basis points, which is the cost you pay when rotating size between them before fees.
Has USDC or ZKUSD ever depegged?
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USDC: worst recorded deviation −12.0%. ZKUSD: 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 ZKUSD?
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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 $9.30B versus $0.00. Combine that with the redemption channel — USDC: direct; ZKUSD: market-only — and size trades against the primary window rather than the order book where possible.
Can I earn yield on USDC or ZKUSD?
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USDC currently shows the higher rate at 21.63% via neutral-trade · Solana, against no tracked rate for ZKUSD. 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 ZKUSD?
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Both are deployed on 1 shared network, including ZKsync Era. USDC spans 123 chains in total and ZKUSD spans 1. 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 ZKUSD?
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Budget three components: the current price spread of roughly 0.0 bps, swap or venue fees, and slippage against available depth ($9.30B for USDC, $0.00 for ZKUSD). For meaningful size, redeeming with the issuer and minting the other side is often cheaper than a secondary-market swap.
Is USDC or ZKUSD regulated?
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USDC is issued from United States (NYDFS / MiCA) with monthly; ZKUSD 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.