Deposit token vs stablecoin
Deposit token vs stablecoin
Same dollar, two designs. The difference is where the dollar is while the token exists.
The two paths
Alice's bank
Central bank
Custodian bank
Issuer
Blockchain
Bob's bank
Alice's bank
Central bank
Bob's bank
Bob
By the numbers
Ledgers that record the dollar
64
Entries before Bob has it
3015
Backing checked
monthlyevery cycle
Bob's credit risk
issuer, uninsuredhis bank, insured
Side by side
Where they differ.
Each dimension scored from the institution's side: green serves it, red works against it, amber depends.
Stablecoin
a private issuer's token, backed by a reserve
6 ledgers · monthly check
your deposit, in programmable record form
4 ledgers · proven every cycle
The verdict
Where the money already sits in a bank, the stablecoin adds layers; the deposit token removes them.
A stablecoin exists to move regulated money outside the institution that holds it. If the institutions are already on the network, that step has no function — and every component built to police it (the reserve, the attestation, the data feed, the redemption queue) has no function either.
What we do not claim
- Stablecoins persist where bank access is absent — the unbanked and non-bank on-chain markets — and we make no claim there.
- External prices still need a signed source; only the reserve oracle disappears.
- Deposit status, insurance and classification are confirmed by counsel per jurisdiction.
Follow one dollar through both.
The interactive explainer steps through every ledger entry under each design. Two minutes, no jargon.