How OBOL rates stablecoins
A stablecoin is a promise, and the only question that matters is what stands behind it. Reserve quality therefore carries the single heaviest weight of any criterion in our ratings: short-dated treasuries and cash at regulated banks are not the same asset as commercial paper, secured loans or a delta-hedged futures position, however stable the token has been so far.
Attestation is scored on rigour, not frequency. A monthly attestation is a point-in-time snapshot signed by an accountant, not an audit of the issuer's financial statements. We mark up issuers who publish full audited accounts and mark down those whose disclosure is a one-page letter.
Peg history tells you about liquidity, not solvency
USDC traded to 87 cents in March 2023 while being fully backed, because the market could not verify a bank balance over a weekend. DAI followed it down because it was collateralised by USDC. A depeg measures how fast the market can confirm the backing, and how deep the redemption channel is — both worth knowing.
Yield-bearing dollars are a different product
Several instruments in this list pay a yield. That yield comes from somewhere — treasury bills, lending, or perpetual funding — and each source has a failure mode. We score these as what they are: investment products with stable-value mechanics, not cash.