Dai (DAI) against Tether (USDT)
Dai and Tether next to each other: how the prices travelled, what differs under the hood and what each coin is built for.
DAI and USDT: what is under the hood
| Dai (DAI) | Tether (USDT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $0.999928 | $0.999587 |
| Ticker | DAI | USDT |
| Type | token | token |
| Launched | 2017 | 2014 |
| Built by | MakerDAO | Tether Limited |
| Supply cap | no cap | no cap |
| In circulation | 4.57 B DAI | 183.44 B USDT |
| Market cap | $4.57 B | $183.37 B |
| Rank by cap | #25 | #3 |
| Network | — | OMNI |
Source: CoinGecko, Sep 18, 2026 21:54. Where these numbers come from
Who went where: DAI and USDT
Both prices start the period at 100, so the chart shows which one rose or fell harder — not the prices themselves.
| Period | DAI | USDT |
|---|---|---|
| Week | 0% | −0.04% |
| Month | −0.01% | −0.02% |
| Quarter | +0.01% | +0.01% |
Over the quarter their daily moves line up at -0.02 (they travel apart).
What each one is built for: DAI and USDT
- Sitting in dollarsDai and Tether
How Dai and Tether are built
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 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 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.