What is USDG? The Global Dollar stablecoin explained
USDG is Paxos' Global Dollar, a regulated stablecoin backed by Robinhood, Kraken and other partners, who share the income from its reserves in return for distributing it.
USDG, the Global Dollar, is a stablecoin designed to hold $1, issued by Paxos under regulation in Singapore and the EU. It launched in November 2024 alongside the Global Dollar Network, a group of companies including Robinhood, Kraken, Anchorage Digital and Galaxy that distribute it. About $3.2 billion was in circulation on 23 September 2026, according to DefiLlama, up from $1.2 billion at the end of 2025.
How USDG works
- Issuers: Paxos Digital Singapore, supervised by Singapore's MAS, and Paxos Issuance Europe, supervised by Finland's FIN-FSA under MiCA (Paxos docs)
- Reserves: cash and cash equivalents in segregated accounts, redeemable 1:1 for dollars (Global Dollar)
- Reporting: monthly attestations by KPMG on Paxos' transparency page
- EU: available to European users under MiCA since July 2025 (Paxos)
How the Global Dollar Network shares revenue
Most stablecoin issuers keep the income from their reserves. USDG passes it on. Companies in the Global Dollar Network receive up to 100% of the returns earned on the reserves backing the USDG held on their platforms, plus extra revenue for minting it and accepting it. That gives exchanges, wallets and payment firms a direct reason to hold and promote USDG.
The founding members in November 2024 were Anchorage Digital, Bullish, Galaxy Digital, Kraken, Nuvei, Paxos and Robinhood. Mastercard joined in 2025, and the network now lists OKX and Worldpay among its partners and more than 100 enterprise partners in total.
Where USDG lives
Chain | USDG supply, 23 Sep 2026 |
X Layer | $1.51 billion |
Robinhood Chain | $703 million |
Solana | $631 million |
Ethereum | $282 million |
Ink | $63 million |
Source: DefiLlama. The chain split follows the distributors: X Layer is OKX's network, Robinhood Chain is Robinhood's, and Ink is Kraken's.
USDG on Robinhood
Robinhood lists USDG for trading, and it's the lending asset in Robinhood Earn. Users lend USDG from a self-custody wallet into a Morpho lending vault curated by Steakhouse Financial, and earn borrower interest. According to Robinhood's support page, Earn isn't available in New York or Texas. Global Dollar confirmed USDG as the lending asset on Robinhood Chain in July 2026.
Earning yield on USDG
Where | Rate, 23 Sep 2026 | Pool size |
Maple syrupUSDG, Ethereum | 5.00% | $426 million |
Jupiter Lend, Solana | 3.39% | $253 million |
Spark Savings, Robinhood Chain | 3.50% | $14 million |
Aave v4, Ethereum | 6.15% (2.52% interest plus 3.63% rewards) | $12 million |
Rates from DefiLlama. They move with borrowing demand, and reward-funded portions end when the programmes do. Stablecoin vaults that allocate across several of these markets are covered in our DeFi yield vaults guide.
How USDG compares with other stablecoins
Stablecoin | Issuer | Regulation | Supply, 23 Sep 2026 | Backing | Main chains |
Tether | No US regulator; HQ in El Salvador | $183B | Mostly Treasuries, plus gold, bitcoin and loans | Tron, Ethereum | |
Circle | OCC national trust charter; MiCA | $75B | Cash and a government money market fund | Ethereum, Solana | |
Ethena | Not a regulated payment stablecoin | $4.9B | Stablecoins plus crypto hedged with short futures | Ethereum | |
World Liberty Financial, with BitGo | OCC trust charter (conditional) | $4.4B | Cash and government money market funds | Ethereum, BNB Chain, Solana | |
USDG | Paxos | MAS (Singapore); MiCA via Finland | $3.2B | Cash and cash equivalents | X Layer, Robinhood Chain, Solana |
Paxos, for PayPal | OCC national trust charter | $2.8B | Dollar deposits, Treasuries and cash equivalents | Ethereum, Solana | |
Ripple (Standard Custody) | NYDFS trust charter | $2.4B | Dollar deposits, Treasuries and cash equivalents | Ethereum, XRP Ledger |
Supply figures from DefiLlama. None of these issuers pays holders interest directly; returns come from lending, platform rewards or, for USDe, staking into sUSDe. The two largest are compared in depth in our USDC vs USDT guide.
Risks
- Issuer: USDG depends on Paxos holding and redeeming the reserves
- Distribution: much of the supply sits on a few partner platforms and chains
- Liquidity: at $3.2 billion, USDG trades less deeply than USDC or USDT
- DeFi: lending markets and vaults add smart contract and strategy risk
Always make sure to do your own research and be aware of the above and any other risks before depositing.
Frequently asked questions
What is USDG crypto?
The Global Dollar, a dollar stablecoin issued by Paxos and distributed by a network of companies including Robinhood, Kraken and OKX.
Who issues USDG?
Paxos, through entities regulated in Singapore by MAS and in the EU by Finland's FIN-FSA.
How is USDG different from USD?
USDG is a token backed 1:1 by dollars and cash equivalents. It moves on blockchains and can be redeemed for dollars.
What are the benefits of USDG?
Regulation in Singapore and the EU, monthly attestations, and a revenue-sharing model that gives platforms a reason to support it.
How do you earn yield on USDG?
By lending it through Robinhood Earn, Maple, Jupiter Lend, Spark or Aave. Rates are variable.
Is USDG MiCA compliant?
Yes. Paxos Issuance Europe issues it under MiCA, supervised by Finland's FIN-FSA.
Keep reading
- What is PYUSD? Paxos' other dollar stablecoin, issued for PayPal.
- USDC vs USDT in 2026. How the two largest stablecoins compare.
- Where USDC yield comes from. Rates and risks by venue.
- How neobanks and fintechs offer stablecoin yield. How platforms turn stablecoin balances into rewards.
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