USDS: stablecoins rating breakdown
Sky · crypto-backed
The largest decentralised stablecoin, at $6.68bn, and the only one at that scale that pays the holder rather than the issuer: deposit it into the savings module and you receive the yield the collateral earns. Collateral is over-collateralised and its composition is visible on-chain, which is a different and in some ways stronger form of evidence than any attestation.
The largest decentralised stablecoin, at $6.68bn, and the only one at that scale that pays the holder rather than the issuer: deposit it into the savings module and you receive the yield the collateral earns. Collateral is over-collateralised and its composition is visible on-chain, which is a different and in some ways stronger form of evidence than any attestation.
How the score is built
Each criterion is scored 0–10 and weighted. The median column is the middle score across every entry in this ranking, so a row reads as a position rather than a number.
| Criterion | What we measured | Weight | Score | Category median | Rank | Weighted gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What is behind it, and who verifies that | on-chain for crypto collateral; off-chain wrappers for RWAs collateral verification · sourced · 2026-08-27 · source | 32% | 7 | 7 | 5 of 9 | 0.00 |
| Peg record, and the deviation right now | −0.0233% deviation from $1.00 · measured · 2026-08-27 · source | 25% | 8 | 8 | 1 of 9 | 0.00 |
| Who can freeze your balance | — | 18% | 6 | 4 | 1 of 9 | +0.36 |
| Supply and where it is accepted | $6.68bn circulating supply · sourced · 2026-08-27 · source | 15% | 7 | 6 | 3 of 9 | +0.15 |
| Who keeps the interest on the reserves | the holder, via the savings module who keeps the reserve interest · sourced · 2026-08-27 · source | 10% | 9 | 4 | 1 of 9 | +0.50 |
Measured 27 August 2026 · weights and method · decided by who keeps the interest on the reserves, worth +0.50 points against the median
What is behind it, and who verifies that: 7/10
Sourced to primary documents: what the reserves actually hold, who attests and how often, and — the distinction the industry blurs deliberately — whether that is a full audit or a point-in-time attestation. A monthly attestation by a named accounting firm and a quarterly self-published summary are not the same instrument, and neither is an audit. Crypto-backed and synthetic designs are judged on their own terms: the collateral ratio, where the collateral lives, and what it does in a drawdown.
Scored 7 of 10 against a category median of 7, which places it 5th of 9 among stablecoins on this criterion. At a 32% weight that is exactly level with the median of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 3.
Peg record, and the deviation right now: 8/10
Every historical break with its date, depth and cause, plus the live deviation from $1.00 measured at a stated timestamp. Both halves matter: the current price says almost nothing on a quiet day, and the history says everything about what happens on a violent one.
Scored 8 of 10 against a category median of 8, which places it 1st of 9 among stablecoins on this criterion. At a 25% weight that is exactly level with the median of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 8, the worst 3.
Who can freeze your balance: 6/10
Whether the issuer can blacklist an address, whether it has actually done so, and at whose request. Nearly every fiat-backed stablecoin can freeze funds — that is not a defect, it is the design, and it is the single fact most likely to matter to a holder who never reads a reserve report. We record it as a fact rather than a moral judgement.
Scored 6 of 10 against a category median of 4, which places it 1st of 9 among stablecoins on this criterion. At a 18% weight that is 0.36 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 6, the worst 2.
Supply and where it is accepted: 7/10
Circulating supply and the number of chains it genuinely circulates on, from public data at a stated timestamp. Supply is the closest available proxy for whether you can exit at size without moving the price.
Scored 7 of 10 against a category median of 6, which places it 3rd of 9 among stablecoins on this criterion. At a 15% weight that is 0.15 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 4.
Who keeps the interest on the reserves: 9/10
The reserves behind a large fiat-backed stablecoin earn a market rate. We record who receives that: the issuer, the holder, or a distributor. It is the least discussed economic fact in the category and it is worth billions a year.
Scored 9 of 10 against a category median of 4, which places it 1st of 9 among stablecoins on this criterion. At a 10% weight that is 0.50 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 2.
Its nearest neighbours in this ranking
Questions about this score
How does USDS pay yield when USDC does not?
+
By design rather than by generosity. Sky routes the return its collateral earns to holders who deposit into the savings module, where Circle and Tether retain the equivalent income themselves. That makes USDS structurally more attractive for a holding of any size — and it means the rate is a governance decision that can change by vote, not a market rate you are entitled to.
What actually backs USDS?
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Over-collateralised crypto positions plus a substantial and growing allocation to tokenised real-world assets — credit and Treasury exposure held through off-chain legal wrappers. The crypto side you can verify on-chain; the RWA side you cannot. Anyone choosing a decentralised stablecoin specifically to avoid off-chain counterparties should read the current collateral composition before assuming this one qualifies.