FDUSD is a Hong Kong-issued stablecoin whose scale is a function of exchange economics rather than of adoption. Binance made it a zero-fee trading pair, volume followed, and the token became one of the largest by turnover while remaining marginal outside that ecosystem.
Reserve position
Reserves are reported as cash and treasury equivalents held by a Hong Kong trust entity, with attestations published. The custody arrangements are subject to less scrutiny than US-regulated issuers face, and the disclosure is thinner than Circle's or Paxos's — fewer details about where reserves sit and with which counterparties.
The April 2025 depeg
Following public allegations by a prominent figure about the issuer's solvency, FDUSD traded below par before recovering. The issuer denied insolvency and continued redemptions. The episode did not prove anything about the reserves; it demonstrated how quickly confidence in a lightly scrutinised issuer can move, which is itself the risk.
Practical assessment
As a trading pair on Binance, FDUSD is fine and the fee saving is real. As a store of value, the combination of thin external liquidity, lighter regulatory oversight and demonstrated confidence sensitivity is a poor set of properties.
Who should use it
Traders using Binance's zero-fee pairs, holding it only for as long as the trade requires. For anything else, USDC or USDT.