Stablecoins Aren’t Created Equal: Mapping the Issuer Marketplace for CFOs – PYMNTS.com

                       <span class="bx-next dashicons dashicons-lightbulb"></span>                          <span class="fw-bold">               Highlights            </span>           <br>                         Stablecoins now top $300 billion, powering a $4 trillion crypto market, but Ethena’s USDe crash to $0.65 shows not all “stable” coins live up to the name.                        <br>                         Fiat-backed tokens position themselves as digital cash, while synthetic and algorithmic designs behave more like leveraged bets, vulnerable to market swings.                        <br>                         Stability isn’t a label, it’s design, disclosure and depth. For real liquidity and reliability, finance teams need to do their homework.                      <br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Both the stablecoin market and the crypto market have been on a recent tear. And if proponents of the digital asset landscape are to be believed, both markets are only set to grow. </span><br><br>Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.     <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="firstName"><input size="40" maxlength="400" class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary" id="firstName" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" placeholder="First Name*" value="" type="text" name="firstName" /></span>                 <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="lastName"><input size="40" maxlength="400" class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary" id="lastName" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" placeholder="Last Name*" value="" type="text" name="lastName" /></span>                 <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="YourTitle"><input size="40" maxlength="400" class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary" id="inputTitle" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" placeholder="Title*" value="" type="text" name="YourTitle" /></span>                 <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="YourCompany"><input size="40" maxlength="400" class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary" id="inputCompany" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" placeholder="Company*" value="" type="text" name="YourCompany" /></span>                 <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="YourEmail"><input size="40" maxlength="400" class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-email wpcf7-validates-as-required wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-email form-control border-secondary" id="inputEmail" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" placeholder="Email*" value="" type="email" name="YourEmail" /></span>               <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="YourCountry"><input size="40" maxlength="400" class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-text wpcf7-validates-as-required form-control border-secondary" id="inputCountry" aria-required="true" aria-invalid="false" placeholder="Country*" value="" type="text" name="YourCountry" /></span>                 <br><span class="wpcf7-form-control-wrap" data-name="newsLetterChoice"><span class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-checkbox me-1" id="checkNewsletter"><span class="wpcf7-list-item first last"><input type="checkbox" name="newsLetterChoice[]" value="yes" checked="checked" /><span class="wpcf7-list-item-label">yes</span></span></span></span><span class="small">Subscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.</span>               <br>By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our <a class="fw-bold" href="https://pymnts-com-develop.go-vip.net/privacy-policy/">Privacy Policy</a> and <a class="fw-bold" href="https://pymnts-com-develop.go-vip.net/terms-conditions/">Terms and Conditions</a>.                <br><input id='hiddenPath' type='hidden' name='path' value='' /><input type='hidden' name='userDeviceId' id='userDeviceId' /><input type='hidden' name='pageTitle' id='pageTitle' />                <br><input class="wpcf7-form-control wpcf7-submit has-spinner btn btn-dark text-uppercase py-2 px-5 small" id="theSubmitButton" type="submit" value="Submit" />                     <br><label>&#916;<textarea name="_wpcf7_ak_hp_textarea" cols="45" rows="8" maxlength="100"></textarea></label><input type="hidden" id="ak_js_1" name="_wpcf7_ak_js" value="184"/><script>document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );</script><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">There </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">are</span> <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/stablecoins-surge-this-week-market-value-tops-300-billion-dollars/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">more than $300 billion</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> worth of stablecoins </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">out</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> in </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">the world</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">.</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> Most of those tokens are used as trading and liquidity architecture for global crypto markets, which themselves boast a market capitalization of around $4 trillion.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">But</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> while all stablecoins are designed to do one simple thing</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">, </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">hold their “peg” to an immutable value, the mechanisms and reserves behind them can vary dramatically</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">; </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">as can their use cases within corporate and enterprise settings.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Underscoring the fact that not all stablecoins are </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">be</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> created equally, Ethena USDe, the thi</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">rd-largest</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> dollar-pegged stablecoin with some $12.6 billion in circulation,</span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/ethena-stablecoins-dollar-peg-slips-briefly-amid-crypto-upheaval/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> lost its peg</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> this Saturday (Oct. 11), trading as low as $0.65.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The dip </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">stressed</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> a simple truth for finance teams mapping exposure across the issuer market: Certain stablecoins </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">out there</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> can behave less like digital cash and more like leveraged instruments.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Given that one of the more encouraging trendlines market observers frequently cite is the growing institutional embrace of blockchain products for high-value, high-frequency, and high-importance financial operations, not knowing the dynamics behind the stablecoin issuer landscape could present financial and digital asset leaders with quite a conundrum when expectations of “pegged” safety collide with</span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/tariffs-trigger-record-19-billion-in-crypto-liquidations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> real-world stress</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true">. </span><br>Advertisement: Scroll to Continue<br><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Read also:</span></strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/4-new-stablecoins-cfos-will-anyone-use-them/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">PYMNTS Flags Four Stablecoins CFOs Are Testing for Liquidity at </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Speed</span></a><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">With stablecoins now integrating into FinTech and payments rails, the stakes for staying “stable” are growing fast. The stablecoin market today is </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://defillama.com/stablecoins" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">dominated</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> by the USDT token, issued by Tether, which holds a hair below three-fifths of the market (59%) at $180 billion in market cap; and the USDC token, issued by Circle, which counts less than half of Tether’s market share and slightly over $75 billion in market cap. </span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Any stablecoin whose peg can meaningfully deviate under duress does not offer the risk profile of cash or bank deposits and can be treated accordingly in risk mapping.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">At one end of the spectrum sit fiat-backed issuers such as Circle’s USDC and Tether’s USDT, which say their tokens are backed by cash and short-term Treasurys held by regulated custodians. Those reserves have made USDC and USDT function much like digital money-market funds, with predictable liquidity and redemption windows. </span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">But even among fiat-backed players, disclosure practices vary widely and have led to recurring questions about asset composition and oversight.</span><br><strong><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Read more: </span></strong><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/stablecoins-perform-poorly-money-could-face-uphill-payments-battle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Stablecoins ‘Perform Poorly’ as Money and Could Face Uphill Payments </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Battle</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> </span></a><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Ethena’s USDe token, for example, represents a unique backing model. </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Rather than relying solely on reserves, its synthetic structure </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">relies on</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> hedging via perpetual futures and collateral in liquid staking tokens (</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">e.g.</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> ETH derivatives) to replicate a dollar-backed value.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">That structure allows the token to generate yield from funding rate differentials but ties its stability to the health of derivatives markets and counterparty performance. When funding rates spike or liquidity dries up, the mechanism can wobble, as it did this weekend. </span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Even in regulated issuers, stablecoin holders face counterparty and custody risk. Who holds the reserves? Are they in bankruptcy-remote vehicles? Are they collateralized by TFAs or external custodians? Are they exposed to banking or institutional default risk? In synthetic designs, the counterparties to derivatives and hedges introduce additional layers of risk.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">For finance teams, the ability to </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/cfos-get-crypto-compliance-blueprint-from-treasury-comments-on-stablecoin-risks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">draw </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">boundaries</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> between stablecoins that operate like money and those that behave more like investment products can be a first-order concern. </span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The ultimate lesson for corporate teams weighing digital assets is a pragmatic one. Stability isn’t a label; it’s a function of design, disclosure and market depth. </span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Even if a stablecoin is mechanically sound, it must be sufficiently liquid and widespread to support large transfers and settlement needs. </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">The deep order books and broad network connectivity of USDC and USDT provide a scale advantage</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">: </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">they can move tens or hundreds of millions across exchanges or chains without </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">large</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> slippage.</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">“Moving $10 [million] to $30 million </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.pymnts.com/cryptocurrency/2025/stablecoins-get-a-seat-in-the-c-suite/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">across borders</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> into exotic corridors typically takes three to five business days,” </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.stablesea.xyz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Stable Sea</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> CEO </span><a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanner-taddeo-9b64562a/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span data-preserver-spaces="true">Tanner Taddeo</span></a><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> told PYMNTS in a July interview. “With stablecoins, it can settle in four to eight hours.”</span><br><span data-preserver-spaces="true">“Every business has a stablecoin use case,” Taddeo added. “Whether it’s internal payroll, contractor payments </span><span data-preserver-spaces="true">or</span><span data-preserver-spaces="true"> capital markets access. 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