Comparison · 2026 edition
Circle (USDC and EURC) vs Tether (USDT): stablecoin issuers compared 2026.
Circle (USDC and EURC) and Tether (USDT) side by side in the Stablecoin Issuers Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
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Circle (USDC and EURC) and Tether (USDT) side by side in the Stablecoin Issuers Index 2026: scores, evidence, published facts and awards.
In the Stablecoin Issuers Index, Circle (USDC and EURC) scores higher overall: 4.3 out of 5 (86 out of 100) against 3.5 (71), ranking 1 and 3 of 11. Circle (USDC and EURC) also scores higher in every segment.
Overall and segment scores out of 100, and the score out of 5.
| Score | Circle (USDC and EURC) | Tether (USDT) |
|---|---|---|
| Score out of 5 | 4.3 | 3.5 |
| Score out of 100 | 86 | 71 |
| Overall rank | 1 of 11 | 3 of 11 |
| For payment and e-money firms (out of 100) | 83, rank 1 | 73, rank 3 |
| For exchanges and brokers (out of 100) | 87, rank 1 | 73, rank 2 |
| For corporate treasuries (out of 100) | 87, rank 1 | 68, rank 3 |
| Type | Dollar and euro stablecoin issuer | Dollar stablecoin issuer |
Each score with the evidence behind it.
| Criterion | Circle (USDC and EURC) | Tether (USDT) |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves | 5/5 Reserve holdings and mint and burn flows published weekly, with the BlackRock-managed reserve fund named. | 2/5 Quarterly reserve reports; reserves include gold and secured loans as well as Treasuries. |
| Independent assurance | 4/5 Monthly assurance by a Big Four firm, not named on the page, plus audited financial statements by Deloitte. | 4/5 Quarterly attestations by BDO and an audit of 2025 financial statements by KPMG. |
| Regulatory standing | 5/5 Licences in the US, EU, UK, Singapore, Bermuda and Abu Dhabi with numbers published. | 3/5 One issuer authorisation, in El Salvador; no licence number on the pages read. |
| Redemption | 4/5 Direct institutional minting and redemption through Circle Mint; a five business day limit is published for EEA retail redemptions only. | 4/5 Direct redemption for verified accounts with a published $100,000 minimum; timing stated only as several days for some withdrawals. |
| Published fees | 2/5 Minting stated as free; redemption and on-chain sending fees sit in a fee schedule that could not be read. | 5/5 Full mint, redemption and verification fees published. |
| Currencies and networks | 5/5 38 networks and two currencies published. | 4/5 14 named networks; one active fiat currency. |
Each criterion is scored 0 to 5 against the best published offer in the Stablecoin Issuers Index. 0 means not offered or not published. How it is scored
What each provider publishes on its own pages, read on 26 October 2026.
| Fact | Circle (USDC and EURC) | Tether (USDT) |
|---|---|---|
| Reserves | Transparency page: "USDC reserve holdings are fully disclosed on a weekly basis, along with associated mint/burn flows." Reserves split into bank deposits, deposits at systemically important institutions, overnight reverse Treasury repo and Treasuries under three months; Treasuries may be held in "the Circle Reserve Fund, a 2a-7 money market fund managed by BlackRock". | Transparency page: tokens "backed 100% by Tether's Reserves"; circulation "typically published daily". Q2 2026 report: reserves "centered on short-duration, high-quality liquid assets", reserves exceeded liabilities by about $4.11 billion, secured lending exposure reduced by about $2.38 billion, gold holdings above 146 tons. |
| Independent assurance | "A Big Four accounting firm provides monthly third-party assurance that the value of USDC reserves are greater than the amount of USDC in circulation", prepared under AICPA attestation standards. USDC page: "Deloitte & Touche LLP is Circle's independent auditor and has audited Circle's financials since fiscal year 2022." | Q2 2026 attestation "prepared by BDO, a top-five global independent accounting firm" (published 31 July 2026). 13 August 2026: "KPMG U.S. issues unqualified audit opinion on Tether's 2025 financial statements." |
| Regulatory standing | Licences page: OCC national trust bank charter number 25361 (Circle National Trust); NYDFS limited purpose trust company; ACPR electronic money institution No. 17788 and AMF MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation No. E2026-005 (Circle Internet Financial Europe SAS); MAS Major Payment Institution No. PS20200630; FCA e-money No. 900480; Bermuda DAB licence No. 54786; ADGM FSRA permission 250035. Circle Internet Financial, LLC NMLS 1201441. | Terms: "Tether has obtained authorisation as a Stablecoin Issuer and Digital Assets Service Provider under the El Salvador Regulations for Issuance of Stablecoin Public Offerings", supervised by the National Commission of Digital Assets. Issuer: Tether International, S.A. de C.V. |
| Redemption | USDC terms: Circle Mint account holders can "issue USDC for USD" and "redeem USDC for USD from Circle"; "Circle Mint is currently available only to institutions". MiCA redemption policy: EEA holders other than retail open a Circle Mint account; retail payout "should not take more than 5 business days". | Fees page: "Minimum Tether Token acquisition or redemption amount 100,000 USD". Verified accounts only; Tether "maintains the sole discretion to approve or not approve accounts". "Withdrawal requests for digital tokens held by Tether are evaluated per request and can take several days to process." |
| Published fees | USDC terms: "Circle will not charge you any fees for tokenizing USD for USDC, or receiving USDC"; fees apply to sending USDC on chain from Circle Mint per the Circle Product Fee Schedule. Redemption is at $1 "less fees where applicable". The fee schedule page did not load when read. | Fees page: redemption fee "The greater of $1,000 or 0.1%"; acquisition fee "0.1%"; verification fee "150 USD in Tether Tokens", non-refundable. |
| Currencies and networks | "USDC is natively supported on 38 blockchain networks as of September 16, 2026." Two currencies: USDC (US dollar) and EURC (euro). | Supported protocols page lists Ethereum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain, Cosmos (via Kava), Celo, Kaia, Tron, Liquid, Solana, Polkadot AssetHub, Tezos, Near, Ton and Aptos. Redemption of CNH₮ ends 20 February 2027; EUR₮ wound down. |
| Date read | 26 October 2026 | 26 October 2026 |
Not published or not stated by Circle (USDC and EURC): independent assurance.
Not published or not stated by Tether (USDT): nothing in this profile is marked as not published or not stated.
Facts read on 26 October 2026 from: circle.com/transparency, circle.com/usdc, circle.com/legal/usdc-terms, circle.com/legal/licenses, circle.com/legal/mica-redemption-policy, circle.com/pricing; and tether.to/en/transparency, tether.to/en/fees, tether.to/en/legal, tether.to/en/supported-protocols, tether.io/news/…, tether.io/news/….
Awards follow from the published scores and cannot be bought.
From each provider's strongest criteria and published terms.
Payment firms and exchanges needing the widest licensing and network coverage.
Exchanges and large traders needing the most widely held dollar stablecoin.
Tell us what you need and where you operate.