CDP Stablecoins

CDP Stablecoins evaluated across liquidation mechanics you actually bear, what actually backs the coin, cost of the loan and who controls it, and observed peg behaviour under stress.

15providers tracked

7ranked (methodology v2026.11.1)

12 November 2026Ranking snapshot

22 October 2026oldest read · due 6 Dec

Independent. Evidence-based.We rank with a published method and sourced evidence. No one can pay to rank.How it works

Set your country and amount to see your costs ·

7 providers match your requirements

Out of 7 ranked providers. 0 excluded.

What this ranks

Ranked here: CDP stablecoins, which let you mint dollars as a loan against collateral you post yourself, with liquidation mechanics that you bear.Not ranked here: dollar coins redeemed at par rather than minted as collateralised debt, and coins that have been sunset, are being switched off by their own governance or no longer have a website.7 of the 15 assessed are ranked; 8 were turned away by name. Who, and whyRequirements narrow the list; they never change a published ChainChoice Score. How the ranking works

Liquity V2 (BOLD)

How Liquity V2 (BOLD) was chosen

Leads this ranking on What actually backs the coin

Liquity v2

80 out of 100published score, #1 of all 7 worldwide

Evidence

High

4/4 criteria scored, with 4 dated sources quoted.

Cost of the loan and who controls itLiquidation mechanics you actually bearWhat actually backs the coin

Why it leads

Liquity V2 (BOLD) is 4 points ahead of Liquity V1 (LUSD), mainly because it scores higher on its liquidation mechanics and its collateral integrity.
Best in this ranking on collateral integrity (8/10; next 7/10)
Ahead of Liquity V1 (LUSD) on liquidation mechanics (+2.2 points) and collateral integrity (+1.6 points)

Tradeoff

Peg resilience: 3 points below the best in this ranking

Borrow APR

2.49%

Sort by

#ProviderBorrow APRCompare

Immutable ETH-only CDP

76 out of 100

Curve's CDP using LLAMMA continuous soft...

73 out of 100

3.3%

Aave-native stablecoin borrowed against any...

67 out of 100

4.5%

Governance-run vault system minting USDS

58 out of 100

Delta-neutral perp-hedged synthetic dollar

51 out of 100

ETH-only non-pegged reflex index

≤41 out of 100

Reflexer RAI has shut down (ETH-only non-pegged reflex index; globally settled on 2025-06-09, redemption only).

Compare providers (0)

See key differences in features, fees, security and more.

Borrow cost predictability

Cost of the loan and who controls it

20% of the published criteria weight. Scored 0–10 from the published evidence; the order below is by this criterion, then the published ranking.

Provider	Borrow cost predictability (0–10)	ChainChoice Score
Liquity V1 (LUSD)	10	76
Liquity V2 (BOLD)	9	80
Curve crvUSD	7	73
Aave GHO	6	67
Sky (formerly MakerDAO) USDS	3	58
Ethena USDe	2	51
Reflexer RAI	0	41

Liquidation mechanics

Liquidation mechanics you actually bear

35% of the published criteria weight. Scored 0–10 from the published evidence; the order below is by this criterion, then the published ranking.

Provider	Liquidation mechanics (0–10)	ChainChoice Score
Curve crvUSD	9	73
Liquity V2 (BOLD)	8	80
Liquity V1 (LUSD)	7	76
Aave GHO	6	67
Sky (formerly MakerDAO) USDS	4	58
Ethena USDe	3	51
Reflexer RAI	0	41

Collateral integrity

What actually backs the coin

25% of the published criteria weight. Scored 0–10 from the published evidence; the order below is by this criterion, then the published ranking.

Provider	Collateral integrity (0–10)	ChainChoice Score
Liquity V2 (BOLD)	8	80
Liquity V1 (LUSD)	7	76
Curve crvUSD	4	73
Aave GHO	4	67
Sky (formerly MakerDAO) USDS	2	58
Ethena USDe	2	51
Reflexer RAI	0	41

Peg resilience

Observed peg behaviour under stress

20% of the published criteria weight. Scored 0–10 from the published evidence; the order below is by this criterion, then the published ranking.

Provider	Peg resilience (0–10)	ChainChoice Score
Sky (formerly MakerDAO) USDS	7	58
Aave GHO	5	67
Liquity V2 (BOLD)	4	80
Curve crvUSD	4	73
Ethena USDe	4	51
Liquity V1 (LUSD)	3	76
Reflexer RAI	0	41

All 4 published criteria

Every ranked row’s score on each criterion, in the published order. Choose a column to order by it.

	Provider					ChainChoice Score
1	Liquity V2 (BOLD)	8	8	9	4	80
2	Liquity V1 (LUSD)	7	7	10	3	76
3	Curve crvUSD	9	4	7	4	73
4	Aave GHO	6	4	6	5	67
5	Sky (formerly MakerDAO) USDS	4	2	3	7	58
6	Ethena USDe	3	2	2	4	51
7	Reflexer RAI	0	0	0	0	41

How this ranking works

How firm the #1 is, the per-criterion arithmetic behind each score, who pays ChainChoice, and which CDP stablecoins were assessed and left out.

FirmThis verdict holds under every one-point re-read

See the arithmetic

Every published criterion was moved up and down by one point and the ranking re-run. The same product came first each time. The published rankings file

Why this score4 published criteria · leads 1 of 4

Published criterionWtScore, and the best hereGap out of 10Pts

Liquidation mechanics you actually bear8.4−189.0

What actually backs the coin6·86.4

Cost of the loan and who controls it4.8−195.8

Observed peg behaviour under stress4.8−342.6

Σ methodology points23.7/32

Each bar is the score on that criterion’s own 0–10 scale, never rescaled to the pool. The dark line is the best any product here reached on that axis. Wt is the most the criterion can add to the 86-point weighted total. Pts is weight × score × 32; the sum is the methodology score, and each weighted point behind the leader costs 2.6 on the displayed score. how these are weighted

Why it ranks first

Why Liquity V2 (BOLD) leads this category right now

Liquity v2: user-set interest rates, ETH and LST collateral. Strongest on cost of the loan and who controls it (9/10): Each Liquity V2 borrower sets their own interest rate within immutable 0.5% to 25% bounds, and no governance body can change it. The trade-off is that redemptions hit the lowest-rate loans first; the wstETH branch averages about 2.49% a year. Weakest on observed peg behaviour under stress (4/10): BOLD has traded below $1 since mid-September 2026: 172 of 449 two-hourly prices sit under $0.995, with a low of $0.99335 on 2026-10-12, on about 38M circulating, the second-smallest supply among the coins compared. Published facts: Liquity docs (docs.liquity.org/v2-faq/borrowing-and-liquidations, read 2026-10-22): "The interest you pay is determined by the rate you set yourself." There is no protocol-set rate. "When first opening the loan you pay an Upfront Borrowing Fee.

Best for

Cost of the loan and who controls it — 9/10

Main tradeoff

The user-set rate is not the free lunch it appears. BOLD redemptions are routed to the lowest-interest-rate Troves first, so choosing a cheap rate directly buys you redemption exposure — your collateral gets swapped for debt repayment at exactly the moment BOLD trades below peg. Setting a competitive rate means continuously monitoring where everyone else set theirs, which is an active management burden Liquity v1 did not impose.

Verify before signup

Liquity docs (docs.liquity.org/v2-faq/borrowing-and-liquidations, read 22 October 2026): "The interest you pay is determined by the rate you set yourself." There is no protocol-set rate. "When first opening the loan you pay an Upfront Borrowing Fee. This fee is calculated as 7 days’ worth of average interest on the respective collateral branch." Changing your rate sooner than 7 days after the last adjustment incurs a Premature Adjustment Fee. What borrowers actually pay, from Liquity's own API (api.liquity.org/v2/ethereum.json, read 22 October 2026), as the average borrower-set rate per branch: wstETH "interest_rate_avg":"0.024947988397406499" (about 2.4948 per cent a year; the largest branch), WETH "interest_rate_avg":"0.034377498739162213" (about 3.44), rETH "interest_rate_avg":"0.084183474157198681" (about 8.42). A rate below others on the same branch is redeemed first.

Recommendation summary

What should decide this category

What collateral are you posting, and how close to the liquidation ratio will you sit?

Will you mainly hold CDP stablecoins, transfer them, or use them inside onchain apps?

Would you rather face an auction, a stability pool, or a redemption queue on a bad day?

Quick picks

Strong options in this category

Start with the lead choice first, then use the shortlist only if you still need a challenger or stronger fit for a specific setup.

Best overall

Liquity V2 (BOLD)

Liquity v2: user-set interest rates, ETH and LST collateral

Best for: Cost of the loan and who controls it — 9/10

Liquidation mechanics you actually bear · weight 35%8/10What actually backs the coin · weight 25%8/10Cost of the loan and who controls it · weight 20%9/10Observed peg behaviour under stress · weight 20%4/10

Quick pick

Liquity V1 (LUSD)

Immutable ETH-only CDP, 110% minimum ratio, zero recurring interest

Immutable ETH-only CDP, 110% minimum ratio, zero recurring interest. Strongest on cost of the loan and who controls it (10/10): Liquity V1 loans are interest-free. The only cost is a one-time borrowing fee that the immutable contracts hold between 0.5% and 5% (0.632% on 2026-10-22), and nothing can change the cost of an open loan. Weakest on observed peg behaviour under stress (3/10): LUSD trades at a premium: it peaked at $1.03439 on 2026-09-27 and sat above $1.005 on 257 of 449 two-hourly prices since mid-September 2026, on about 25.8M circulating, the smallest live supply among the coins compared. Published price: Read on-chain 2026-10-22 (Ethereum block 26246895, 08:14:59Z) from TroveManager 0xA39739EF8b0231DbFA0DcdA07d7e29faAbCf4bb2: getBorrowingRate() = 0.006317856771492722 (a one-time fee of about 0.632 per cent: the 0.50 floor plus a base rate of…

Best for: Cost of the loan and who controls it — 10/10

Liquidation mechanics you actually bear · weight 35%7/10What actually backs the coin · weight 25%7/10Cost of the loan and who controls it · weight 20%10/10Observed peg behaviour under stress · weight 20%3/10

Quick pick

Curve crvUSD

Curve's CDP using LLAMMA continuous soft liquidation instead of auctions

Curve's CDP using LLAMMA continuous soft liquidation instead of auctions. Strongest on liquidation mechanics you actually bear (9/10): crvUSD uses LLAMMA soft liquidation: as a loan nears its limit, its collateral is rebalanced gradually instead of the loan being closed, and hard liquidation applies only once loan health falls below 0%. The Curve DAO sets the loan and liquidation discounts; they are not fixed in code. Weakest on what actually backs the coin (4/10): About 28% of the 242M crvUSD in circulation is debt from user-posted mint markets (68.2M). The rest comes from the Yield Basis allocator line (110.5M), the LlamaLend operator (30M) and PegKeepers (33.75M), per on-chain balances on 2026-10-22. Published facts: Curve's own Prices API (prices.curve.finance/v1/crvusd/markets/ethereum, read 2026-10-22) publishes each crvUSD mint market's live rate.

Best for: Liquidation mechanics you actually bear — 9/10

Liquidation mechanics you actually bear · weight 35%9/10What actually backs the coin · weight 25%4/10Cost of the loan and who controls it · weight 20%7/10Observed peg behaviour under stress · weight 20%4/10

Quick pick

Aave GHO

Aave-native stablecoin borrowed against any Aave v3 collateral

Aave-native stablecoin borrowed against any Aave v3 collateral. Strongest on liquidation mechanics you actually bear (6/10): Aave liquidates GHO borrowers position by position: up to 50% of the debt while the health factor is above 0.95, up to 100% at or below it. Liquidation bonuses are 5-6% on WETH, wstETH and WBTC collateral, and governance sets every parameter. Weakest on what actually backs the coin (4/10): User borrows back about 24% of GHO's 699M supply (170.9M across three Aave markets, part of it in the Horizon RWA market). The rest sits in stablecoin swap modules, an idle reserve of 263.7M and facilities bridged to other chains. Published price: Read on-chain 2026-10-22 (Ethereum block 26246923, 08:20:59Z) from Aave v3 Pool 0x87870Bca3F3fD6335C3F4ce8392D69350B4fA4E2, getReserveData(GHO): currentVariableBorrowRate = 4.50% (ray 45000000000000000000000000).

Best for: Liquidation mechanics you actually bear — 6/10

Liquidation mechanics you actually bear · weight 35%6/10What actually backs the coin · weight 25%4/10Cost of the loan and who controls it · weight 20%6/10Observed peg behaviour under stress · weight 20%5/10

Considered and not ranked

8 products we looked at and left out

A shortlist is only honest if it says who it turned away. Each of these was assessed against the same published criteria as the ranked table and excluded for a stated reason — not overlooked.

We assessed 15 products here and rank 7 — 47% of what we looked at. That share is of the products we assessed, not of the category: how many exist is not something we can count, so we do not claim a number for it.

Abracadabra Magic Internet Money (MIM)· No longer operatingSynthetix sUSD· No longer operatingElixir deUSD· No longer operatingAngle USDA and EURA (formerly agEUR)Prisma Finance mkUSD (and ULTRA)· No longer operatingUsual USD0Venus VAI· Ranked elsewhereAlchemix alUSD

What this ranking does not assess

Contract failure: the code holding the funds is exploited.
Regulatory failure: no licence where you are, or a forced market exit.
Execution failure: you get a worse price, later, or nothing.

These can still cost you money here; the ranking does not measure them, so a high place says nothing about them. Which criterion scores each family, and why the others do not apply, is in /data/risk-coverage.json.

How this ranking is built

Reviewed on liquidation mechanics you actually bear, what actually backs the coin, cost of the loan and who controls it, and observed peg behaviour under stress.

Data checked Oct 2026 · Independent rankings · We show our work

Reviewed 22 October 2026Next review by 6 December 2026Published 5 August 2026Methodology v2026.11.1

How this page is reviewed

Reviewed means every product ranked on this page was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.

Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.

How we review · Review calendar · Corrections log · How we make money

Direct answer

What is the best CDP stablecoin in 2026?

Liquity V2 (BOLD) ranks #1 overall for CDP stablecoins on ChainChoice. Liquity v2: user-set interest rates, ETH and LST collateral. It holds that rank under an affiliate-blind methodology scored across 4 published, weighted criteria — the code that ranks providers physically cannot read affiliate payouts (CI-enforced), so a payout can't move a rank. The verdict re-computes on every fee change, incident, or regulatory action; the full reasoning and the audit receipt are under Methodology.

How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores

Control failure: a key or vote changes the rules, freezes or mints.
Scored by Cost of the loan and who controls it · 20% (Liquity V2 (BOLD) 9/10, Liquity V1 (LUSD) 10/10, Curve crvUSD 7/10)
Oracle failure: a wrong price or outcome liquidates or settles a position.
Scored by Liquidation mechanics you actually bear · 35% (Liquity V2 (BOLD) 8/10, Liquity V1 (LUSD) 7/10, Curve crvUSD 9/10)
Insolvency failure: the firm or issuer that owes you cannot pay.
Scored by What actually backs the coin · 25% (Liquity V2 (BOLD) 8/10, Liquity V1 (LUSD) 7/10, Curve crvUSD 4/10)
Exit failure: you cannot get out at par, on time, or with what is yours.
Scored by Observed peg behaviour under stress · 20% (Liquity V2 (BOLD) 4/10, Liquity V1 (LUSD) 3/10, Curve crvUSD 4/10)

Not assessed by this ranking: Contract failure, Regulatory failure, Execution failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means.

FAQs

3 questions readers ask before choosing CDP stablecoins.

Frequently asked

Questions people ask before choosing CDP stablecoins

When should I use CDP stablecoins instead of other crypto assets?

When you want dollars WITHOUT selling the collateral you already hold. A CDP stablecoin is minted against assets you lock up, so it is a loan you took from a protocol rather than a dollar someone is holding for you — useful for staying exposed to an asset while spending against it, and unnecessary if you simply want a dollar balance. The trade you accept in return is liquidation risk: the position is scored here on the mechanics you actually bear when the collateral falls, because that is the day the product either behaves as documented or does not.

Are all CDP stablecoins basically the same?

No, and the differences show up precisely when it matters. They differ on what actually backs the coin, on the liquidation mechanics you bear if your collateral falls, on who controls the borrowing rate and can change it, and on how the peg has behaved under real stress rather than in a whitepaper. Two coins can hold the same peg on a calm day and behave completely differently in an hour of falling collateral prices, which is the scenario this page is built around.

What matters most when choosing a CDP stablecoin?

The liquidation mechanics you personally bear, and what onchain state shows actually backs the coin. One protocol here presents as a CDP while crypto-collateralised vaults are under 4% of its debt, and another publishes no protocol parameters at all.

Free advisorNo signup needed

Still unsure? Get your best CDP stablecoins pick

Answer a few quick questions and get one clear recommendation based on how you actually plan to use crypto — then review the evidence before deciding.

No signupFree first pass · PrivateNo spam · No account

Not financial advice · Independent · Always do your own research

Best picks

Best CDP stablecoins in 2026

Weighted on liquidation mechanics you actually bear (35), what actually backs the coin (25), cost of the loan and who controls it (20), and observed peg behaviour under stress (20). The heaviest is liquidation mechanics you actually bear: Minimum collateral ratio, liquidation penalty, and — decisively — whether the mechanism is a continuous rebalance (LLAMMA soft liquidation), a stability-pool absorption, or a full-positio…

Best overall

Liquity V2 (BOLD)

Liquity v2: user-set interest rates, ETH and LST collateral

Data checked Oct 2026

Best for: Cost of the loan and who controls it — 9/10

Browse this network

Keep exploring CDP stablecoins

The same published ranking, read for your country, side by side, or one provider at a time.

Every ranked provider, its full verdict

Best CDP stablecoins by country

How this category is defined

CDP Stablecoins: overview, criteria and weights

Written and reviewed by Mathias Siemonsmeier Founder

Not financial advice · For informational purposes only · Always do your own research

Your setup

7 providers match your requirements

Why it leads

Tradeoff

Borrow APR

Compare providers (0)