7 Best Stablecoins to Buy Now
Reputation is paramount as stablecoins compete for their share of the cryptocurrency market.
Transparency and regulation are key factors in stablecoins' fates.
Stablecoins are digital assets with a tied value to an external asset like gold or fiat money, which gave them an early reputation for dependability. The third-largest stablecoin, TerraUSDWill Evans (UST), however, abruptly "de-pegged" from the U.S. dollar in May, eventually falling to less than a cent on the dollar and leading to the demise of its sister token, LUNA. This put into question the stability of the market. Stablecoins have become a major concern for governments who fear that they will eventually pose serious competition against the sovereignty of their national currencies, in addition to raising concerns about risk transparency, according to Will Evans, managing director of the Americas for the cryptocurrency exchange CEX.IO.
Some cryptocurrency investors may naturally ask how secure these investments truly are as an increasing number of investors from emerging nations dip their toes back into the diversified stablecoin pool. But most experts concur that they will continue to exist in some capacity. Here are the top seven stablecoins available to investors right now.
Tether (USDT)
Stablecoins play a critical role in the ecosystem of digital assets, according to Mauricio Di Bartolomeo, co-founder and chief strategy officer of cryptocurrency lender Ledn. They offer a method for customers to move dollar-denominated funds between exchanges, which is a feature that's growing more crucial for investors in emerging nations seeking access to the dollar's stability. Tether is still the biggest stablecoin in the world and, therefore at the peak of its worldwide boom, despite the fact that its market worth recently fell below $70 billion, its lowest level since October 2021.
Tether was initially created to address the dual issues of cryptocurrency's high volatility and its lack of convertibility when it was first introduced as Realcoin in 2014. But over the past 18 months, even Tether has been impacted by the collapse of other coins, including TerraUSD, and market volatility. Di Bartolomeo claims that USDT has lost market share and is "not as transparent" as USD Coin, another coin on this list. In spite of this, USDT's market cap is more than treble what it was in December 2020.
USD Coin (USDC)
"The best stablecoin in the market right now in terms of integrity and transparency," says Di Bartolomeo of USDC. Di Bartolomeo claims this is the case because USDC has given Circle, its issuing firm, credibility by focusing explicitly on regulation and transparency from the start. The parent company's strategy of bridging traditional finance and blockchain technology appears to be paying off for the business.
The USDC coin is "the only stablecoin that has monthly audited reserves published on their website and can be viewed by any user," according to Di Bartolomeo. Furthermore, the price of USDC is stabilized by this transparency, which increases adoption. In recent weeks, USDC has been increasing its market share at the expense of rival Tether. Existing investors and newcomers to the market, according to Di Bartolomeo, "preferred USDC to USDT by a factor of ten to one."
Dai (DAI)
Dai (DAI) is the only algorithmic stablecoin that is now accessible on the market that is not supported by a central body. DAI uses collateralized debt in the form of Ether (ETH), the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum blockchain, and is "soft-pegged" to the U.S. dollar. "This creates a bit more risk management that has to happen to ensure (adequate) reserves," says Di Bartolomeo. He continues: "Dai's limitation is that it lacks a precise peg.
It is exceedingly difficult for institutions to use Dai for lending since you actually have no control over what the free-floating rate will be." One of the key benefits stablecoins have over other cryptocurrencies is lending. However, Di Bartolomeo notes that when market volatility is strong, Dai has a tendency to maintain its peg to the U.S. dollar.
Binance USD (BUSD)
According to Di Bartolomeo, the biggest issue that dollar-pegged Binance USD might experience is that it is linked to a certain cryptocurrency exchange, Binance. Despite talking about the coming public at some point in the following two to three years, Binance is still a private firm. It is, therefore less transparent than a publicly traded corporation would be.
BUSD is a cryptocurrency that is issued in collaboration with the well-known Paxos Trust Co. LLC, which has been approved by the New York State Department of Financial Services. The considerably less common Pax Dollar stablecoin is also produced by Paxos. After USDT and USDC, BUSD is the third-largest stablecoin in the world by market cap less than two years after its launch. The stablecoin, which has a market valuation of $17 billion, has gained popularity as more cryptocurrency wallets, platforms, and services embrace it.
Pax Dollar (USDP)
According to Di Bartolomeo, Paxos is "likely second or third on the list after Circle to get its dollars in the good books of regulators." This is encouraging for Paxos' future. As Paxos Standard (PAX), which was introduced in 2018, Pax Dollar (USDP) first appeared in August of that same year. Paxos renamed the coin to more closely correspond with the American dollar's name and ticker. Despite being governed by the New York State Department of Financial Services and the sixth-largest stablecoin by market cap, USDP is still little compared to the top coins. Compared to USDT's $65.9 billion market cap as of July 6, USDP's value is less than $1 billion.
TrueUSD (TUSD)
Another "reputable operator" is TrueUSD, according to Di Bartolomeo. The reputation of a stablecoin's operator, in addition to market cap and liquidity, is one of the most crucial elements in judging the worth of an investment in that stablecoin, according to him. Investors may experience great hardship if platforms and operators lack risk management. This is probably going to play a bigger role as governments try to control cryptocurrency.
And with the recent introduction of the Responsible Financial Innovation Act by Senators Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., U.S. rules seem to be drawing nearer by the day. Since its beginnings, TrueUSD, a nonvolatile alternative to Bitcoin (BTC) and free-floating tokens offered by TrustToken, has made frequent auditing a priority. As a result, it appears ready for a more regulated environment.
Digix Gold Token (DGX)
Stablecoins have historically been backed by gold as well as the U.S. dollar. Digix Gold Token is one of the current top options for a stablecoin backed by gold. According to Di Bartolomeo, while evaluating such stablecoins, one key factor to take into account is the location of the issuing company's gold. A single ounce of gold housed in a vault in Moscow and one in St. Louis, for instance, have substantially different values.
DGX, on the other hand, keeps its real gold in safes in Singapore and Canada. Individual investors must decide whether they feel secure having the gold assets backing their stablecoins housed in these places. As of July 6, DGX has a meager market size of $800,000, but its price has been moving, up 6% over the past week.
7 best stablecoins to buy in the current environment:
- Tether (USDT)
- USD Coin (USDC)
- Dai (DAI)
- Binance USD (BUSD)
- Pax Dollar (USDP)
- TrueUSD (TUSD)
- Digix Gold Token (DGX)