Dai (DAI) vs Tether (USDT): comparison
Side-by-side comparison of Dai and Tether: how their prices moved, how they differ technically and what each is used for.
DAI and USDT: key specs
| Dai (DAI) | Tether (USDT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.999985 | $0.999721 |
| Ticker | DAI | USDT |
| Type | token | token |
| Launched | 2017 | 2014 |
| Created by | MakerDAO | Tether Limited |
| Max supply | no cap | no cap |
| Circulating supply | 4.59 B DAI | 183.46 B USDT |
| Market cap | $4.59 B | $183.41 B |
| Market cap rank | #23 | #3 |
| Network | — | TRON (TRC20) |
| Network fee paid in | — | TRX |
CoinGecko data as of Sep 11, 2026, 19:33. How we calculate the data
Price change: DAI vs USDT
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 | USDT |
|---|---|---|
| 7 days | +0.02% | −0.04% |
| 30 days | 0% | +0.04% |
| 90 days | +0.02% | 0% |
The correlation of their daily price changes over the last 90 days is -0.24 (inverse).
DAI or USDT: what each is used for
- Holding dollarsDai and Tether
How Dai and Tether 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 Tether works
USDT is not a blockchain of its own. The same dollar token is issued on many networks — TRON (TRC20), Ethereum (ERC20), BNB Smart Chain (BEP20), Solana, TON, Polygon, Arbitrum and others. Tokens on different networks are not interchangeable directly: they are moved between networks by exchanges and bridges.
What Tether is used for
USDT is used to park funds without price volatility, to settle trades, to move dollars across borders and to pay for services. It is the most traded asset in crypto and the most common way to lock in profits after selling other coins.