What a stablecoin is, and why its market cap reads differently
A stablecoin is a token built to hold a steady value against a reference asset, usually the US dollar, sometimes the euro, another currency, or a commodity like gold. Traders use stablecoins to park value between trades, move money between exchanges, settle payments, and supply liquidity in DeFi without taking on the price swings of BTC or ETH.
That changes how you read the ranking. For most crypto assets, market cap moves with both price and supply. For a stablecoin that is holding its peg, the price barely moves, so market cap mostly tracks how many tokens are outstanding. A rising stablecoin market cap usually means more coins were issued because demand grew; a falling one usually means holders redeemed or moved elsewhere. If you want the general formula first, read what market cap means in crypto.
Fiat-backed, crypto-backed, and algorithmic stablecoins
Fiat-backed stablecoins are issued by a company that holds reserves such as cash, bank deposits, and short-term government debt. You trust the issuer to keep enough reserves, to publish attestations or audits, and to honor redemptions. Most of the largest stablecoins by market cap work this way.
Crypto-backed stablecoins are minted against crypto collateral locked in smart contracts. Because that collateral is volatile, these systems usually require more collateral than the value of stablecoins issued and liquidate positions that fall below a safety ratio. You trade issuer risk for smart-contract, oracle, and collateral risk.
Algorithmic and synthetic designs try to hold the peg mainly through code and market incentives, sometimes combined with hedged positions instead of plain reserves. Some work as intended; some fully algorithmic designs have collapsed when confidence broke. CoinGecko tags many coins with sub-categories (fiat-backed, crypto-backed, algorithmic, and currency-specific lists), and the same stablecoin can appear in several of them.
Pegs, depegs, and what to watch
A peg is the price a stablecoin aims for, such as $1.00. In practice even healthy stablecoins trade a fraction above or below that target as supply and demand shift. A depeg is a meaningful, sustained move away from the target. Common causes are doubts about reserves, a rush of redemptions, banking or custody problems at the issuer, falling collateral prices, or a broken mechanism.
When you scan the live table, compare each coin’s price with its target rather than looking only at its rank. A large market cap does not guarantee stability, and a small one does not mean a coin is unsafe. Read rankings together with 24-hour volume, the issuer’s reserve disclosures, and which chains the coin is issued on. Many stablecoins exist on several networks at once, including Ethereum, Solana, Base, and BNB Chain, and the market cap usually covers the total supply across all of them.
How market-cap ranking works on this page
TokenCap’s stablecoin view follows CoinGecko’s stablecoins category and sorts it from largest to smallest market cap. This page does not list prices, supplies, or market-cap numbers; those change constantly and load live from the CoinGecko API when you open the interactive rankings. The live table is always the source of truth for which coins appear and in what order.
One more caveat: for stablecoins, market cap and fully diluted valuation are often close because new supply is minted on demand rather than unlocked on a schedule. Our FDV vs market cap guide explains when those two numbers diverge for other tokens.
Who uses stablecoin rankings?
Traders check which stablecoins have the deepest liquidity before choosing a quote currency. DeFi users compare stablecoins for lending, borrowing, and liquidity pools, which is why our DeFi tokens by market cap landing pairs well with this one. Researchers and builders track stablecoin supply as a rough signal of how much dollar liquidity is sitting on-chain. TokenCap is built for those use cases: a dark, fast interface that links static guides like this one to live category views. Return to the TokenCap home markets table for all cryptocurrencies.
Disclaimer
TokenCap provides market information only. Nothing on this site is financial, investment, legal, or tax advice. Stablecoins carry issuer, reserve, custody, smart-contract, and regulatory risk, and a price target is not a guarantee. Always verify data on the live table and do your own research before making decisions.