USDS (USDS) price and market data
Vicalis market state
Held for Mar 30, 2026, 10:31 AM
Volatility: Low
Volatility is low. Trading activity is low. There are no signs of elevated market stress.
USDS Markets
Coin profile
What You Need to Know About USDS (USDS)
USDS is the dollar-denominated ERC-20 stablecoin of Sky Protocol and the successor to DAI in the upgraded Maker/Sky system. Its target value of about one dollar is supported not by a bank's promise to redeem the token for any holder, but by the protocol's overall accounting system: collateralized Vault positions, debt ceilings, oracles, liquidations, system surplus or debt, and modules that exchange it for other stablecoins. The official DAI USDS Converter exchanges DAI for USDS and back at exactly 1:1 with no fee, so the two tokens share an economic foundation despite having different contracts and integrations. The USDS contract is designed as an upgradeable UUPS/ERC-1967 proxy, meaning that holders depend not only on collateral quality but also on governance powers and correct upgrades. USDS is not a bank deposit, an equity interest in Sky, or a token whose balance grows automatically; it should be analyzed primarily as a liability of a decentralized but governed smart-contract system.
What it is used for
USDS is used to hold and transfer a dollar-denominated unit of account, as a quote asset on DEXs, as collateral and a source of liquidity in DeFi, and as an entry point to certain Sky products. An important distinction is that the Sky Savings Rate is implemented through the ERC-4626 sUSDS vault. A user deposits USDS and receives an sUSDS share whose value is expressed in an increasing amount of USDS; ordinary USDS held in a wallet does not include this mechanism. To support liquidity, LitePSM exchanges USDS/DAI for USDC and back at a set ratio, with governance-configurable fees and subject to available balances; module parameters can halt operations. USDS quality should therefore be measured through the depth of markets around parity, the available capacity of the DAI converter and PSM, collateral composition and liquidity, the state of Vaults and liquidations, the amount of system debt, USDC concentration in stabilization modules, and demand for ordinary USDS separately from sUSDS.
What can move the price
- The availability of arbitrage determines how narrow the price corridor remains. The fee-free DAI/USDS converter links the two liabilities at 1:1, while LitePSM creates a route to USDC. The deeper the available balances and the lower the effective fees and network costs, the faster the market can close a deviation; depletion of a buffer or suspension of one direction allows a wider deviation from the peg.
- Sky's solvency depends on collateral values and enforcement of Vault rules. Timely oracle updates, sufficient collateralization ratios, functioning liquidations, and the system's ability to absorb bad debt sustain confidence in USDS. Changes to debt ceilings and the addition of new collateral adapters alter both issuance capacity and the risk profile.
- Sustainable demand emerges when USDS is needed as a settlement and collateral asset, rather than being deposited temporarily only to obtain sUSDS. Integrations with DEXs, lending markets, and payment routes improve liquidity, but their economic effect should be compared with the amount of new issuance and the share of supply concentrated in related Sky products.
Key risks
- A sharp decline in collateral value, illiquid collateral, delayed oracle data, or ineffective liquidation may leave the system with unbacked debt. The Vat documentation separately notes that authorized modules have broad powers over collateral accounting: an adapter error, a malicious governance decision, or a critical core defect could affect the entire system rather than a single Vault.
- LitePSM passes some of USDC's counterparty risk to USDS. A freeze, redemption restriction, or depeg of the external stablecoin would reduce the quality of the liquid reserve; exchange volume is also limited by module balances, while governance can change fees and halt directions. The presence of a PSM therefore does not amount to unconditional dollar redemption of any size.
- USDS and sUSDS use upgradeable contracts, while system parameters are executed through the Chief, Pause, and Spell governance modules. An upgrade error, governance capture, incorrect configuration, or a bridge or wrapper vulnerability on another network could disrupt availability and liquidity. Even when Ethereum functions correctly, a user also depends on the chosen interface and the specific DeFi contract.
What makes it different
USDS differs from USDT and USDC in how the liability is created. A centralized issuer generally issues tokens against a reserve portfolio under its control and provides redemption under its contractual rules; Sky maintains collateralized on-chain accounting, permits different types of collateral, liquidates undercollateralized positions, and changes parameters through governance. This makes the composition of risk observable at the contract level but does not eliminate centralized dependencies: LitePSM may hold USDC, while adapters and oracles remain critical. USDS is separated from DAI by its contract and new user infrastructure, but the 1:1 converter closely links their economics. The distinction from sUSDS is even more important: USDS aims to be a stable unit of account, while sUSDS is a share in a savings vault with a changing exchange rate against USDS. The yield of sUSDS and the quality of the USDS peg cannot be treated as one property.
Market Statistics
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