Dai (DAI) vs USD Coin (USDC): comparison
Side-by-side comparison of Dai and USD Coin: how their prices moved, how they differ technically and what each is used for.
DAI and USDC: key specs
| Dai (DAI) | USD Coin (USDC) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.999876 | $0.999842 |
| Ticker | DAI | USDC |
| Type | token | token |
| Launched | 2017 | 2018 |
| Created by | MakerDAO | Circle |
| Max supply | no cap | no cap |
| Circulating supply | 4.57 B DAI | 74.38 B USDC |
| Market cap | $4.57 B | $74.37 B |
| Market cap rank | #23 | #6 |
| Network | — | Ethereum (ERC20) |
| Network fee paid in | — | ETH |
CoinGecko data as of Sep 11, 2026, 20:34. How we calculate the data
Price change: DAI vs USDC
Both prices are set to 100 at the start of the period, so the chart shows which coin grew or fell more, not the prices themselves.
| Period | DAI | USDC |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | +0.02% | −0.01% |
| 30 days | 0% | +0.02% |
| 90 days | +0.02% | 0% |
The correlation of their daily price changes over the last 90 days is -0.12 (weak).
DAI or USDC: what each is used for
- Holding dollarsDai and USD Coin
How Dai and USD Coin work
How Dai works
To mint DAI, a user deposits more collateral than the value of the DAI received. If the collateral falls in value, the position is liquidated automatically, which keeps DAI backed. Interest rates set by governance help hold the price near one dollar.
What Dai is used for
DAI is used in DeFi for lending, borrowing and liquidity pools, and by users who want a dollar asset that is managed by a protocol rather than a single company.
How USD Coin works
Like USDT, USDC exists on many blockchains — Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, Arbitrum, BNB Smart Chain and others. Circle mints and burns tokens as dollars enter or leave its reserves, which keeps the price close to one dollar.
What USD Coin is used for
USDC is popular in DeFi and with businesses that prefer a regulated issuer. It is used for payments, savings in dollar terms, trading and moving value between blockchains.