Stablecoins have gained significant popularity in the cryptoasset ecosystem due to their promise to maintain a peg relative to a fiat currency, a commodity or a basket of assets, ensuring stability over time. However, the maintenance of this peg is not always guaranteed and stablecoins can experience significant price deviations from their intended value. In this section, we introduce indicators that can be used to get a better understanding of some of the risks associated with stablecoins. Some of these indicators are related to historical peg stability.

The Peg stability chart (below) tracks the deviation of stablecoin prices from their promised peg, demonstrating the historical ability of stablecoins to maintain stable prices over the past one, two and three years and for all the available price data since 2019. Please interact with the chart to see how often the price was above or below the peg and how often it fell in specific price ranges, and to get summary statistics for the cases when the price deviated from its peg by more than a certain threshold.

Please note that this and other peg stability charts below are based on the prices on exchanges (secondary market) and do not consider the possibility of issuing or redeeming stablecoins directly from a stablecoin issuer (primary market). The User agreements table at the end of this section gives an overview of stablecoin issuance and redemption terms. Subject to data availability, future iterations of the dashboard may also cover the primary market and its importance for price stability in more detail.

Notes: 1. The bars (shaded areas) to the right and left of the chart represent the cumulative count of outliers and should not be mistaken for standard histogram bar representations. 2. The density curve is included for illustrative purposes only and should not be used to draw predictive inferences about the underlying price distribution. 3. ‘Occurred on x hours’ means that the price of one unit was at least the dollar price shown within x hours which may or may not have been consecutive. 4. The chart is based on the pricing data from 14 centralised exchanges (see Methodology for details) and does not consider direct redemption or issuance prices from stablecoin issuers.

Depeg statistics

The ‘Breaking the band’ calculator highlights the cases when the price of a stablecoin has moved outside the specific range of its target value. Please select a desired threshold to find out how often and for how long a stablecoin depegged during specific time periods. The calculator also provides insights into the maximum and median continuous times of the depegs.

Notes: 1. The calculator displays the number of instances when the price of the stablecoin has moved above, below or both above and below the selected threshold. The term ‘Instances’ refers to the total number of occurrences when a stablecoin deviated from its peg, regardless of the duration of each occurrence. ‘Overall time’ indicates the total duration of all observations that fall outside the specified interval. ‘Continuous time’ characterises an instance by detailing the consecutive number of hours during which the stablecoin’s price remained above, below or around (above and below simultaneously) the designated threshold, such as two consecutive hours, three consecutive hours and so forth. ‘Max’ represents the highest number of hours recorded for a single instance, while ‘Median’ signifies the typical duration (measured in hours) of an instance. 2. The calculator is based on the pricing data from 14 centralised exchanges (see Methodology for details) and does not consider direct redemption or issuance prices from stablecoin issuers.

Stablecoin comparison

The Peg stability comparison chart allows for a comparative analysis of the historical stability of two different stablecoins. Select the stablecoins you are interested in and interact with the chart elements to see more details.

Notes: 1. The density curves are used as a more convenient way to represent and compare the price distribution histograms from the first graph of this section (Peg stability). The curve’s height smooths the histogram representation and does not precisely reflect the actual number of observations at specific points. Density curves are used for illustrative purposes only and should not be used to draw predictive inferences about the underlying price distributions. 2. The chart is based on the pricing data from 14 centralised exchanges (see Methodology for details) and does not consider direct redemption or issuance prices from stablecoin issuers.

Most of the major stablecoin projects as of 1 February 2024 back their stablecoins by fiat currencies and other assets to maintain the promised par value. The Stablecoin reserve assets chart below tracks the composition of assets held in reserve to back respective stablecoins. You can use it to better understand the stability and risks associated with stablecoins, as the quality and the structure of the reserve assets portfolio can impact a stablecoin’s ability to maintain the peg.

Notes: The reserve assets composition data is based on external public sources. It is provided as is and the chart should not be considered as a data verification.

Note: The term ‘auditor’ is used in a general sense, irrespective of the requirements for auditors and financial reporting standards in a specific jurisdiction. It may refer to external auditors, independent accountants or any other third parties reviewing reserve reports of stablecoin issuers. For details, please refer to the original reports published on the transparency pages of stablecoin issuers.

Several jurisdictions have bespoke regulatory regimes for stablecoin issuers, requiring them to obtain a licence, become registered or meet other conditions before the issuance and during the lifetime of stablecoins. These regulatory frameworks aim to protect investors and customers, ensuring that stablecoin issuers are legally compliant. The following table provides an overview of such jurisdiction-specific regulatory requirements.

Notes: 1. Some cells contain symbols and indicating the presence or absence of regulatory requirements in a particular category; bracketed text briefly explains the symbol, while tooltips give further details, including sources of information. 2. This table contains general information on the stablecoin regulatory regimes in different jurisdictions, compiled for research purposes. In that sense, you must not rely on this information as an alternative to professional legal advice. If you have any legal inquiries about the information presented in the table, you should consult your lawyer or other professional legal services provider for specific and accurate advice. The table was last updated on 1 February 2024.

User agreements are legal documents that outline the terms and conditions of using a stablecoin. These terms may encompass the stablecoin’s redemption value, redemption processing fees, eligibility for redemption, issuer rights, exit clauses, deposit insurance, audit requirements and more. It is crucial that investors and customers understand these aspects of user agreements in order to comprehend the potential risks and protections associated with the purchase and use of stablecoins.