Stablecoins, such as USDC, USDT, and USDe, do not have an absolute peg to the US dollar. This was stated by Greg Cipolaro, the global head of research at the financial company NYDIG, emphasizing the fallacy of the notion of guaranteed parity.
This is reported by Finway
Price Fluctuations and the Impact of Market Mechanisms
During the market crash on the night of October 10 to 11, 2025, the stablecoin USDe from Ethena fell in price to $0.65 on the Binance exchange. Even large-scale projects like USDC and USDT temporarily lost parity with the dollar. According to Cipolaro, these instruments do not have a fixed value, and their price is determined by market mechanisms.
“Stablecoins are not pegged to $1.00. Period. In reality, they are market-traded instruments, and their prices fluctuate around $1.00 due to trading dynamics.”
The Role of Arbitrage and Risks for Users
The analyst emphasized that the term “peg” creates a misleading sense of security, while in reality, the stability of stablecoins is based on the arbitrage strategies of traders. They buy coins when they trade below par and sell when the price rises. Issuers provide mechanisms for the creation and redemption of tokens in response to demand, facilitating value correction.
Cipolaro noted that even the most popular stablecoins can lose stability in real-time. This, he said, indicates the underestimated risks of such digital assets by users.
It is worth noting that recently European officials have called for the development of euro stablecoins as an alternative to counter the dominance of the dollar in financial markets.