Messari: A quick look at the main contenders in the stablecoin market

Author: Addy, Messari Researcher; Translation: Jinse Finance xiaozou

Tether's record-breaking profitability last quarter has placed it among the giants of TradFi. However, the massive profit of $5.2 billion has also made it a target for new competitors looking to get a slice of the pie.

In this article, we will delve into the rapidly evolving world of stablecoins, covering both centralized and decentralized domains.

Overview of Stablecoins

We will conduct the following types of vertical segmentation:

PYUSD

Centralized stablecoins tend to lack transparency and tend to only experience high trading volumes with clear incentives. PYUSD is one of the few centralized stablecoins with a market cap of $1 billion that has gained trust.

USD0

Through airdrop incentives and integration with DeFi platforms like Morpho, more decentralized treasury-backed stablecoins like USD0 are rapidly growing. USD0 has a market cap of approximately $250 million and quickly reached this target.

deUSD of Elixir

Synthetic stablecoins like USDe use "long spot + short futures positions" to maintain their peg. Due to the compressed basis, USDe lost market share. However, new protocols like Elixir aim to improve the Ethena model by adjusting their collateral support.

GHO

Stablecoins focused on maximizing decentralization and minimizing human intervention have not shown much demand historically. GHO may be an exception as it leverages the continually growing active user base on AAVE.

DYAD

Innovative designs often attempt to implement some kind of mechanism to improve typical collateral debt.

Position mode. DYAD is a stablecoin that aims to utilize excess collateral in the system through another token called KEROSENE. KEROSENE allows users to mortgage their external assets to mint more DYAD. Moreover, the more KEROSENE NFT (NOTE) holders have, the more profits they earn from the liquidity pool.

The new stablecoins in these categories are competing with each other in terms of yield, accessibility, liquidity, stability, and capital efficiency. New designs or adjustments to old designs will involve various trade-offs.

New stablecoins are entering the market every week, and the landscape of the stablecoin sector is constantly evolving.