Stablecoins Explained: What They Are and How USDT, USDC, and DAI Differ
A stablecoin is a cryptocurrency designed to hold a steady value against a reference currency — almost always the U.S. dollar. One token is meant to equal one dollar, at all times. The design works only if there is something credible behind that one-dollar promise, and that backing is where stablecoins genuinely differ from one another. The scale is what makes the question matter. As of October 2026, Tether's USDT has roughly $184 billion in circulation, and Circle's USDC has roughly $73 billion — two private dollar tokens moving tens of billions between traders, businesses, and savers every day. They look interchangeable on an exchange screen. They are not. Understanding what sits behind each peg is the whole subject of this post. The One Idea Behind Every Stablecoin Strip away the branding and every stablecoin runs on the same mechanism: confidence in redemption. A token trades at $1 because holders believe they can always get $1 back — by redeeming with the issuer, or by...