About & Methodology
Stablecoin Beat was built on a simple observation: stablecoins are the most consequential
monetary infrastructure built in the past decade, and no existing publication was covering
them with the analytical rigour they deserve. We publish independent data, original research,
and market analysis focused on stablecoins as emerging monetary instruments and payment
infrastructure — not as speculative assets.
Coverage spans daily market monitoring, analytical articles, and long-form research on
structural developments in digital dollar systems. Stablecoin Beat does not accept funding
from stablecoin issuers and does not provide paid placement or preferential coverage.
Stablecoin Beat Analytical Framework (SBAF)
Stablecoin Beat applies a multi-dimensional analytical framework designed to assess stablecoins beyond price stability and capture their role as settlement assets across fragmented blockchain systems.
The framework is structured around five core dimensions:
This framework informs both data outputs and editorial analysis across all content formats.
Data Sources
Stablecoin Beat operates a multi-source data pipeline. Each source is authoritative for a specific domain; we do not mix sources for the same data point, and we cross-validate where coverage overlaps.
| Source | What We Use It For | Collection |
|---|---|---|
| CoinGecko API | Market capitalisation, price, 24h/7d change, trading volume, circulating supply for all 322 stablecoins. Primary source for all market cap figures and rankings. | Daily, 15:00 UTC |
| DefiLlama Stablecoin API | Cross-chain supply distribution — how much of each stablecoin sits on each blockchain. Powers our /networks/ section and product page chain breakdowns. Covers 230+ coins across 160 networks. | Daily, 15:25 UTC |
| ECB FX Rates API | EUR/USD and other currency rates for EUR-pegged stablecoin analysis and cross-currency comparisons. | Daily, 15:05 UTC |
| Regulatory & industry publications | Policy documents, issuer disclosures, and institutional research from the BIS, IMF, Federal Reserve, and major stablecoin issuers. Used for context and citation in analytical pieces. | As published |
Source of truth rules: CoinGecko is authoritative for market cap, price, and all ranking tables. DefiLlama is authoritative for per-chain supply distribution and network-level stablecoin totals. When the two sources report the same coin (e.g. USDT), they agree within 0.03% — the difference reflects coverage methodology, not data error. We never blend the two totals into a single figure.
In addition to market data providers, Stablecoin Beat references institutional and academic research on digital assets, including publications from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), International Monetary Fund (IMF), and central banks.
Editorial & Research Methodology
Stablecoin Beat integrates data-driven insights with structured editorial and research processes. Content is produced across four formats:
Editorial Process
Stablecoin Beat maintains a separation between data, editorial, and research functions.
- Our data team collects and validates primary market data daily across CoinGecko, DefiLlama, and ECB sources
- Our analysts review market signals and validate interpretations against observable data before publication
- Research contributors develop long-form analysis grounded in primary data and cited institutional literature
Where uncertainty exists in an interpretation, it is reflected explicitly in the framing. We do not present model outputs or inferred figures as primary data.
Coverage & Categories
We track all coins that CoinGecko classifies under one of the six stablecoin categories below. Coverage is not filtered by market cap or commercial criteria — if CoinGecko categorises a coin as a stablecoin, we include it.
| Category | Count | Description |
|---|---|---|
| USD Stablecoin | 187 | Tokens pegged to the US Dollar (USDT, USDC, USDS, PYUSD, RLUSD, etc.) |
| Yield-Bearing | 73 | Tokens that accrue yield while maintaining a stable value (sUSDS, sUSDe, USDY, etc.) |
| Crypto-Backed | 34 | Stablecoins overcollateralised by on-chain crypto assets (DAI, GHO, crvUSD, etc.) |
| EUR Stablecoin | 21 | Tokens pegged to the Euro (EURC, EURA, EURe, EURCV, etc.) |
| Algorithmic | 6 | Supply-elastic tokens targeting price stability without full collateral |
| Commodity-Backed | 1 | Tokens backed by physical commodities (XAUT — gold) |
Our historical archive begins on 11 December 2025. Prior data was backfilled from CoinGecko's historical market chart API, covering all 322 tracked coins.
Stablecoin Taxonomy
We classify every stablecoin along three independent dimensions. These are orthogonal — a coin can be fiat-backed, USD-pegged, and yield-bearing simultaneously.
Crypto-backed — overcollateralised with on-chain crypto (DAI, GHO).
RWA-backed — backed by tokenised real-world assets where yield flows to holder (USDY, USD0).
Commodity-backed — physical commodities (XAUT).
Algorithmic — stability maintained algorithmically with minimal collateral.
USD dominates at >95% of total stablecoin market cap. EUR is the second-largest category by coin count.
Many coins come in base/yield pairs: USDe/sUSDe, DAI/sDAI, USD0/USD0++. We track both versions with explicit links between them.
Metrics & Calculations
The following metrics appear across our Tracker, Charts, network pages, and weekly commentary. All formulas are applied consistently across the full dataset.
Original Indicators & Quantitative Methodology
Stablecoin Beat publishes ten original quantitative indicators, each updated daily as a time series. The frameworks behind them come from central bank research, academic finance, and antitrust analysis, applied to stablecoin market data and published as live interactive charts at stablecoinbeat.com/charts/.
These indicators started as internal research tools before becoming public-facing pages. Our analysts use the full suite when writing Insights articles, weekly market recaps, and our forthcoming quarterly intelligence reports. When the Granger test shows a directional shift between USDT and USDC, or the HHI moves outside its historical range, our team investigates what is driving it and publishes the analysis. The indicators are the research infrastructure. The articles and reports are what comes out of it.
Market Monitoring & Analysis
In addition to the daily data archive, Stablecoin Beat monitors 322 stablecoins for significant market events. When a meaningful signal is identified, our editorial team analyses it and publishes commentary to @Stablecoin_beat and our weekly recap.
Events we track include: depeg events (any stablecoin trading more than 0.5% from its peg); large capital flows (significant week-over-week market cap change relative to total market size); dominance shifts (a coin's market share moving more than 2 percentage points in 7 days); market cap milestones (a coin crossing a round-number threshold such as $1B, $5B, or $10B); and category-level flows (aggregate movements within yield-bearing, crypto-backed, or EUR stablecoin segments).
All market commentary is factual and grounded in our primary data. News coverage draws on financial and regulatory publications and requires source attribution and precision in any numerical claims.
Editorial Standards
Stablecoin Beat is an independent publication. We do not accept sponsored content, paid placements, affiliate arrangements, or any compensation from stablecoin issuers, protocols, or financial institutions.
Our data coverage is determined entirely by CoinGecko's taxonomy — we do not add or remove coins from our universe based on commercial relationships. Commentary in our weekly recaps and Insights articles is based solely on publicly available market data and cited sources.
When we make an error in data or commentary, we correct it promptly and note the correction in the affected piece. We do not silently edit published content.
Who Uses Stablecoin Beat
Stablecoin Beat is designed for:
- Payment companies and fintech operators
- Digital asset platforms and wallets
- Researchers and academic institutions
- Market analysts and infrastructure providers
Corrections & Contact
If you spot an error in our data or commentary, or have a question about our methodology, reach out via X / Twitter @Stablecoin_beat. We review all methodological queries and respond publicly where the answer is relevant to other readers.
Data lag: Our tracker and charts reflect the most recent 15:00 UTC snapshot. Intraday price movements are not captured. Cross-chain supply data updates at 15:25 UTC. If a major market event occurs between daily snapshots (e.g. a depeg), the data will update at the next collection window.
References
- Bank for International Settlements, "The future monetary system," BIS Annual Economic Report 2023. bis.org/publ/arpdf/ar2023e3.htm
- International Monetary Fund, "Global Financial Stability Report." imf.org/en/Publications/GFSR
- BIS Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures, "Stablecoins: Implications for monetary policy, financial stability, market infrastructure and payments, and consumer protection." bis.org/cpmi/publ/d198.htm
- Kaiko Research, Digital Asset Market Structure Reports. research.kaiko.com
- Federal Reserve, Stablecoin Research and Policy Papers. federalreserve.gov