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October 4, 2026

CRYPTO·COINBEAT

Journalism for the digital-asset economy

Best Stablecoins · Rank 06 of 8

USDT review

Deepest liquidity anywhere in crypto

Last verified August 13, 20264 scored axes

Score8.3

Documented, with gaps

The short answer

USDT scores 8.3 out of 10 and ranks #6 of 8 in the best stablecoins table, strongest on peg record (9.4) and weakest on attestation depth (7.4).

The most traded asset in the sector, available on more chains and more venues than anything else, and it has held its peg through every crisis since 2017. Disclosure remains quarterly attestation rather than full audit, which is the long-standing and unresolved criticism.

Key facts on record

Issuer
Tether
Backing
Treasuries plus other assets
Reporting
Quarterly attestation

What the record shows

4 axes, weighted as published in the table’s methodology. Each score below is read from the fact printed under it.

USDT on reserve quality

8.4/ 35% of the score

Reserves are majority short-dated US Treasuries by the issuer's own reporting, with the remainder including secured loans, precious metals, bitcoin and other investments; composition is published quarterly.

USDT on attestation depth

7.4/ 25% of the score

Quarterly attestation reports by an accounting firm; no full financial-statement audit has been published in the token's history.

USDT on peg record

9.4/ 20% of the score

Has held par through every major crisis since 2017, with brief deviations including a fall to roughly $0.95 during the Terra collapse in May 2022, recovered within days.

USDT on redemption access

8.0/ 20% of the score

Par redemption is available to verified direct customers above a published minimum; retail exit runs through the secondary market.

Quick answers

What is USDT best for?
Deepest liquidity anywhere in crypto. The most traded asset in the sector, available on more chains and more venues than anything else, and it has held its peg through every crisis since 2017.
Where does USDT rank among best stablecoins?
#6 of 8, scoring 8.3 out of 10 — documented, with gaps on our band scale.
What is the weakest part of USDT?
Attestation depth at 7.4. Quarterly attestation reports by an accounting firm; no full financial-statement audit has been published in the token's history.

Strengths and weaknesses

In its favour

  • Unmatched liquidity and venue coverage
  • Held the peg through every major market crisis since 2017
  • Reserves now majority short-dated Treasuries by its own reporting

Against it

  • No full financial-statement audit has ever been published
  • Reserve composition includes secured loans and other assets

Liquidity is the product

USDT trades on more venues, more chains and in more pairs than anything else in crypto, and it has held its peg through every crisis since 2017 — including a fall to roughly $0.95 during the Terra collapse in May 2022, recovered within days. For anyone moving size between venues, that ubiquity is worth more than a cleaner disclosure document, which is precisely why the market has never punished the disclosure gap.

What backs it, by its own account

Majority short-dated US Treasuries, with the remainder including secured loans, precious metals, bitcoin and other investments. The composition is published quarterly, and that reporting is an attestation rather than a full financial-statement audit — a distinction the issuer's marketing has consistently blurred and which has never been closed in the token's entire history.

How to hold the risk

The practical position is that USDT is the best instrument for moving and trading and a weaker one for sitting in. Traders who use it as a settlement rail are taking hours of exposure; holders who park savings in it are taking years of exposure to a reserve nobody has audited.

Redemption

Par redemption is available to verified direct customers above a published minimum. Everyone else exits through the market, where the depth is unmatched and has never yet failed to absorb a panic.

Frequently asked questions

Is USDT backed?+

By the issuer's own quarterly attestations, majority short-dated US Treasuries with a remainder that includes secured loans, precious metals and bitcoin. No full financial-statement audit has ever been published.

Has USDT ever lost its peg?+

Briefly, most notably to about $0.95 during the Terra collapse in May 2022, recovering within days. It has held the peg through every major crisis since 2017.

USDT or USDC?+

USDT for liquidity and venue coverage; USDC for reserve quality and disclosure. Many traders use USDT to move and USDC to hold.

How USDT compares

8 services in best stablecoins

  1. 01USDCThe most conservative reserve profile among major stablecoins9.3
  2. 02USDS / DAIOn-chain collateral with transparent, verifiable backing9.0
  3. 03PYUSDUsers who want a stablecoin with a mainstream payments issuer behind it8.9
  4. 04RLUSDInstitutions wanting a trust-issued dollar on two settlement rails8.8
  5. 05crvUSDBorrowers who want soft liquidation instead of a cliff edge8.5
  6. 06USDTyou are hereDeepest liquidity anywhere in crypto8.3
  7. 07FDUSDTrading pairs on venues where it is the default quote asset8.0
  8. 08USDeUsers who understand they are buying a basis-trade product7.4