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To check what backs a stablecoin, use the issuer’s latest dated reserve disclosure and read the linked accountant’s report—not just the issuer’s “fully backed” claim or a third-party summary. In the report, separate cash and bank deposits from Treasury bills, repos, government money-market funds, and combined categories; then compare reserve assets with tokens outstanding on the same date. The report establishes what was disclosed and examined at that point in time, not whether every holder can redeem promptly or has deposit insurance.

Start with the exact token and its issuer

Confirm the token’s full name, ticker, and issuer. Similar names, wrapped tokens, or tokens traded on the same exchange can have different issuers and reserve pools. Use the issuer’s own transparency or attestations page as your starting point; an exchange listing, blockchain explorer, or market-data page is not a substitute for the underlying reserve disclosure.

For example, Circle provides reserve information for USDC, while Ripple publishes reserve information for RLUSD. Their pages and reporting practices apply to those issuers’ respective tokens, not to stablecoins generally.

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Find the latest report and note both dates

On the issuer’s page, open the newest reserve report and record both its measurement date—the date the balances are “as of”—and its publication date. A report published later may describe an earlier snapshot, so do not call it current solely because it remains linked.

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Circle says USDC reserve holdings are disclosed weekly and monthly third-party assurance is provided. Ripple describes monthly RLUSD reserve reports. Those stated cadences are a useful guide, but check the dates on the actual report: publication timing and the latest available snapshot can change.

Read the asset composition, not just the backing headline

Look for separate amounts or percentages for cash, bank deposits, Treasury bills or other Treasury securities, repurchase agreements (repos), government money-market funds, and any “other” or combined category. Read the footnotes and definitions: a broad category can combine assets that are materially different.

  • Cash and bank deposits: Money held as cash or as a deposit at a financial institution. A bank deposit is not the same asset as a Treasury bill.
  • Treasury bills: Direct holdings of short-term U.S. government securities, if the report identifies them separately.
  • Repos: Repurchase agreements are collateralized financing transactions, not direct bank deposits or bills held outright. Check whether the report describes the transaction, collateral, and maturity.
  • Government money-market funds: A fund interest is not identical to directly owning the fund’s underlying bills or holding cash. Check what the fund holds and whether the report supplies that detail.
  • Combined or residual categories: If cash is grouped with Treasuries, repos, settlement adjustments, or other assets, the report does not establish a cash-only amount for that category.

Circle says its Circle Reserve Fund may hold cash, short-dated U.S. Treasuries, and overnight U.S. Treasury repos. Circle also says reserve Treasuries and overnight reverse repos may be held in custody accounts, a separately managed account, or that fund. Consequently, a USDC disclosure may describe a mix of instruments rather than a binary choice between cash and bills. See Circle’s reserve disclosures for the issuer’s descriptions.

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Reconcile reserve assets with tokens outstanding

Find the total reserve assets and the corresponding amount of stablecoins outstanding or in circulation on the same measurement date. Check whether the accountant’s conclusion says assets meet or exceed the relevant outstanding amount, and note any adjustments, exclusions, or qualifications.

Do not compare a reserve snapshot with a circulation figure from a different date. And keep two questions separate: the reserve ratio asks whether reported assets cover the reported token amount; the asset-composition table tells you what those assets are. A ratio at or above 100% does not show whether the backing is cash, bills, repos, funds, or another category.

Check what the accountant actually examined

Open the accountant’s report linked from the issuer page and identify the accountant, the applicable standard, the date or dates covered, the management assertions examined, and any stated limitations or qualifications. An examination or attestation of specified assertions is not automatically a full financial-statement audit of the issuer or a guarantee about every aspect of its operations.

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NYDFS’s 2022 guidance describes a monthly independent CPA examination of specified reserve assertions for issuers within its scope, including reserve market value by asset class, units outstanding, and reserve adequacy at specified times. It also describes a separate annual report concerning internal controls. This is regulatory guidance with a defined scope, not a universal description of every stablecoin report or every issuer’s legal obligations. Read the NYDFS Industry Letter of June 8, 2022.

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For instance, a third-party ledger describes BDO’s March 31, 2026 USDT engagement as point-in-time assurance over stated financial figures and reserves, rather than assurance for other dates or non-financial activity. Treat any particulars surfaced by that ledger as a lead to the linked BDO report, not as a substitute for reading the primary report.

Look beyond the asset mix: custody, claims, and redemption

Custody and legal claims

Check whether the issuer names custodians, describes segregated accounts, or discusses liens, competing claims, and who has rights to the assets. These details can matter to a holder’s practical position. A statement that reserves are held at an insured bank does not, by itself, establish that each token holder has a direct claim on the bank or is individually covered by deposit insurance.

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The U.S. Treasury’s 2021 Report on Stablecoins explains that pass-through deposit insurance depends on the deposit structure and applicable requirements being met. Without pass-through treatment, insurance may apply to the issuer’s deposit only up to the applicable limit. The report cites $250,000 as the standard deposit-insurance limit in its 2021 discussion; that figure is not a guarantee that a stablecoin or its holders are insured. The report is useful for understanding the distinction, but it should not be read as a statement of current law in every circumstance.

Redemption access

Read the issuer’s redemption terms separately from its reserve report. Check who can redeem directly, whether onboarding or minimum amounts apply, the fees and timing, and whether suspension or delay provisions exist. A holder who cannot redeem directly may need to rely on an intermediary, even when an issuer reports reserve assets.

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NYDFS’s 2022 guidance describes a timely par redemption policy for lawful holders within its scope and calls for public reserve and redemption disclosures under that guidance. It does not establish the terms available to every stablecoin holder. The Treasury report likewise notes that issuer redemption rights and limitations vary. See the NYDFS guidance and the Treasury report.

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Compare two issuers on the same basis

When comparing stablecoins, use reports with matching measurement dates where possible. Record the category definitions as well as the headline numbers; otherwise, similar-looking percentages may describe unlike assets or scopes.

What to compare What to record
Asset composition Cash and deposits, direct Treasury holdings, repos, government money-market funds, and other or combined categories, with definitions and footnotes.
Maturity and liquidity Whether Treasury maturities, repo terms, and liquidity characteristics are described clearly.
Coverage and reconciliation Reserve value and units outstanding on the same date, including adjustments and exclusions.
Assurance Accountant, standard, scope, dates, report frequency, and limitations.
Custody and claims Named custodians, segregation language, competing claims, and what the disclosure establishes about holder rights.
Redemption Eligibility, onboarding, minimums, fees, timing, and suspension or delay provisions.

Do not assume that a disclosure requirement described in a law or search result applies to every issuer today. For example, a U.S. Code result concerning reserve-composition disclosures mentions average tenor and custody location by reserve category, but its current statutory and implementing status and applicability should be verified before treating it as an operative obligation. The underlying result is at the U.S. Code site.

How to interpret examples without treating them as current guarantees

Historical or dated figures can show how to read a reserve report, but they do not establish an issuer’s current position. The following figures were surfaced by StableRegistry, a third-party ledger, and should be checked against each linked primary accountant’s report before quotation or reliance.

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Token and report date What the ledger reports What the mix illustrates
USDC, July 31, 2026 StableRegistry reports $71,904,101,332 in reserve assets and $71,826,453,410 in USDC circulation, a 100.11% ratio, based on a Deloitte examination. It identifies Deloitte & Touche LLP and AICPA attestation standards. It reports 84.44% in the Circle Reserve Fund and 15.56% in a mixed category of Treasury securities, regulated-institution cash, and adjustments. The fund is described as containing Treasury securities, Treasury repos, cash, and timing or settlement adjustments; neither percentage means “cash only.”
USDT, March 31, 2026 StableRegistry reports $191.77 billion in reserves against $183.44 billion in digital-token liabilities, based on a BDO assurance report for that date and its defined scope. The reported portfolio includes 61.0% U.S. Treasury bills with weighted average maturity under 90 days, 12.6% repo agreements, 10.3% gold, 8.3% secured loans, 3.5% other crypto, and 0.1% cash, among other categories. This is a mixed portfolio, not a cash-and-bills-only description.
RLUSD, issuer page accessed October 1, 2026 Ripple’s issuer page displayed balances as of October 1, 2026 and says the token is backed by U.S. dollars and other cash equivalents held in segregated accounts, with monthly third-party CPA reports on circulation and reserve composition. The page’s summary does not establish an asset-by-asset mix. Inspect the linked report before claiming a specific amount of cash or Treasury bills.

Sources for the dated ledger examples are StableRegistry’s USDC reserve ledger, StableRegistry’s USDT reserve ledger, Circle’s transparency page, and Ripple’s RLUSD page. These snapshots can become stale; the latest issuer report and its accountant’s report are the relevant documents for a current check.

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