Stablecoins
USDC vs USDT: Reserves, Reports, Fees, and Chains Compared
USDC and USDT are both dollar stablecoins with issuer-commissioned reports, and the differences are checkable. USDC reported $71.90 billion on 31 July 2026; USDT reported $187.75 billion in assets on 30 June 2026. This table holds reserves, assurance, fees, and chains, each with its date.
The question this page answers
USDC and USDT are the two largest dollar stablecoins. Shoppers ask which is better, and this page does not answer that. It answers what differs, on facts a reader can check [2]. Every row carries its own date, because the two issuers publish on different schedules [1].
The method is fixed. Reserve figures come from the reports the accounting firms signed [2] [1]. Fee figures come from the issuers’ published schedules [3] [4]. Chain figures come from issuer surfaces with their own stamps [6]. Nothing on this page is averaged, ranked, or blended.
How to read the table
Three reading rules keep the table honest. First, the dates differ by design: the USDC column is as of 31 July 2026 and the USDT column as of 30 June 2026, a month apart [2] [1]. Second, the instruments differ: a monthly examination under AICPA attestation standards is not the same instrument as a quarterly attestation under ISAE 3000 Revised, though neither is a financial statement audit [5] [1]. Third, the issuers differ in structure, so a row can compare unlike things. That is stated, not hidden.
Reserves
The scale difference is the first thing the table shows. USDC reported reserves of $71,904,101,332 on 31 July 2026 [2]. USDT reported total assets of $187,751,426,411 on 30 June 2026 [1].
Composition differs more than scale. USDC’s reserves sit in two places: a Rule 2a-7 government money market fund holding repo agreements and Treasuries, and segregated accounts at regulated institutions [2]. USDT’s reserves span a wider portfolio. Treasury bills lead at $114.96 billion, but precious metals, secured loans, and bitcoin sit inside the same report [1]. A reader who cares about what backs the token reads the composition row, not the total.
Assurance
Both tokens carry issuer-commissioned assurance, and the firms differ. Deloitte & Touche LLP signed the July 2026 USDC examination, on a monthly cadence the issuer states [5]. BDO Italia signed the Q2 2026 Tether report, on a quarterly cycle [1]. Cadence and instrument are named on every assurance row, because “attestation” covers more than one thing. The attestations page reads the instruments in full.
Redemption and fees
Neither issuer redeems for free at the margin. Tether’s schedule sets a 100,000 USD minimum, with the redemption fee the greater of $1,000 or 0.1 percent [3]. Circle’s schedule has no fixed minimum, but tiered fees took effect on 15 March 2026. The Standard tier charges 5 basis points on net redemption with the first $2 million per day free [4]. Wholesale terms differ in shape, not in existence.
Chains
USDC’s September 2026 surfaces list 37 approved blockchains [5]. Tether’s per-chain render, stamped 9 September 2026, lists 14 chains with Tron and Ethereum dominant [6]. One asymmetry matters enough to name: USDT issues natively on Tron, while USDC was discontinued there in 2024 and only a legacy contract remains. The USDC on Tron page carries that record.
The depeg record, stated carefully
The corpus behind this site holds a 2023 case file for USDC. It holds no qualifying depeg event for USDT. That is a statement about coverage, not a safety ranking, and this page renders it in exactly that form. The depeg register carries the case files with feed and pair named on every row.
What neither report states
Both reports speak for one date each. Neither states what happens the day after signing. Neither states the price at which the reserve assets would actually sell. Neither states the issuer’s plan under a large redemption wave [2] [1]. Those questions have answers in issuer policy documents and in history, not in the assurance reports, and a fair comparison page says so instead of papering over the gap.
The corpus boundary matters here too. A reader who asks which token has “never” depeged is asking a question no finite record can answer. This site’s depeg coverage is scoped and dated, and the asymmetry row above inherits both limits.
What would change the answer
The rows above move on documents, and documents move. A newer USDT quarterly report would refresh the USDT column and its date. A USDC report month changes the USDC column. A fee schedule revision changes the redemption rows [3] [4]. A chain addition or removal changes the chains row. Any of these updates rewrites the table, and the reviewed date at the foot of the page records that it happened.
The weighting never changes by document, though. A reader who prizes report freshness reads the cadence row. A reader who prizes reserve narrowness reads the composition row. A reader who needs a specific chain reads the chains row first. The USDT page and the USDC page hold each token’s full fact table, and the stablecoins hub frames the rest of the pillar.
| Criterion | USDC (Circle) | USDT (Tether) |
|---|---|---|
| Reserve total | $71,904,101,332 (31 July 2026) | $187,751,426,411 total assets (30 June 2026) |
| Reserve composition | Rule 2a-7 fund: repo $52.72B, Treasuries $7.18B, cash $1.00B; segregated accounts $11.19B (31 July 2026) | T-bills $114.96B, repo, precious metals $18.84B, secured loans $13.45B, bitcoin $5.80B (30 June 2026) |
| Assurance firm | Deloitte & Touche LLP (July 2026 report) | BDO Italia (Q2 2026 report) |
| Instrument and cadence | Monthly examination under AICPA attestation standards | Quarterly reserves report attestation, ISAE 3000 Revised |
| Redemption minimum | No fixed minimum; tiered fees effective 15 March 2026 | 100,000 USD minimum |
| Redemption fee | Standard tier 5 bps on net, first $2M daily free | Greater of $1,000 or 0.1% |
| Issuer-listed chains | 37 approved blockchains (September 2026 surfaces) | 14 chains in the per-chain render, incl. Tron and Ethereum (9 September 2026) |
| Depeg record in this corpus | 2023 case file exists | No qualifying event in this corpus |
In favor
- USDC publishes monthly, so its headline figures are at most a month old
- Tether's per-chain render updates daily and carries its own as-of stamp, so chain-level positions have a live source
- USDC's reserves sit in a Rule 2a-7 government fund plus segregated accounts, a narrow and named structure
Trade-offs
- Neither report is a financial statement audit; both are issuer-commissioned attestations
- Tether's reserve mix includes secured loans, precious metals, and bitcoin, which are not cash-equivalent
- The two latest reports carry different dates, so no row above is same-day comparable
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between USDC and USDT?
The issuers differ, the reserve designs differ, and the reporting differs. Circle holds USDC reserves in a government money market fund plus segregated accounts and reports monthly. Tether holds USDT reserves across a wider portfolio and reports quarterly. The table above states each difference with its date.
Is 1 USDC equal to 1 USDT?
They are two separate tokens from two separate issuers. Each is engineered toward one dollar, but neither issuer redeems its token into the other's. The two trade against each other at market prices.
Can I convert USDT to USDC?
Not through either issuer. Conversion happens on exchanges and swap services at market prices, and each venue sets its own fees. No issuer path exists for turning one directly into the other.
Which is safer, USDC or USDT?
This page does not answer that, by design. It states the checkable differences: reserves, assurance, redemption terms, chains, and the depeg record. The reader applies the weights. The safety framework page walks the same criteria one by one.
Last verified