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The Money Desk · Blog
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How to Check Whether a Stablecoin Is Backed by Cash or Treasury Bills

A practical guide to reading a stablecoin reserve report: verify the date, separate cash from Treasuries and repos, compare assets with tokens outstanding, and check the accountant’s scope and redemption terms.
From TheFinanceBase Team6 min to read
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To check a stablecoin’s backing, open the issuer’s official transparency page, find its latest dated reserve report, and read both the asset-composition table and the accountant’s report. Separate cash and bank deposits from Treasury bills, repurchase agreements (repos), government money-market funds, and mixed categories. Then compare reserve assets with tokens outstanding on the same date. A reserve ratio alone does not tell you what the reserves contain—or whether you can redeem your tokens directly.

Start with the exact token and its issuer

Confirm the token’s full name, ticker, and issuer. A similarly named token or a wrapped version may have a different issuer and reserve pool. Use the issuer’s own transparency or attestations page as your starting point, rather than treating an exchange listing, blockchain explorer, or market-data page as the authority for reserve composition.

For example, Circle publishes information about USDC reserves on its transparency page, while Ripple provides reserve information for RLUSD on its issuer page. These pages point you toward issuer disclosures; read the underlying report before drawing conclusions about specific assets.

Find the report date and publication date

Record both the report’s measurement date—the “as of” date—and the date it was published. They may differ. A report that remains available on an issuer site is not necessarily the latest one, so check the page for a newer report. Circle says USDC reserve holdings are disclosed weekly and monthly third-party assurance is provided; Ripple describes monthly RLUSD reserve reports. Reporting schedules can change.

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  1. Open the issuer’s transparency, attestations, or reserve-report page.
  2. Select the latest dated reserve report and any linked accountant’s report.
  3. Write down the measurement date and publication date before recording amounts or percentages.

Read the asset-composition table carefully

Look for distinct line items and footnotes. “Cash or Treasury bills” is often too simple a description: reserves can include several different instruments, and a combined category may not reveal how much is in each.

  • Cash and bank deposits: Cash held at a bank is not the same asset category as a Treasury security. Check whether the report distinguishes cash from deposits and names the relevant custody arrangements.
  • Treasury bills or other Treasury securities: These are government securities held outright. Look for maturity information if it is disclosed.
  • Repos: A Treasury repo is a collateralized financing transaction, not a bank deposit or direct ownership of a Treasury bill. Check the report’s description and terms.
  • Government money-market funds: A fund interest is not the same as directly holding the fund’s underlying bills or cash. Check whether the report identifies the fund and how it treats the position.
  • Mixed, other, or adjustment categories: Read the definitions and footnotes. Do not label a category “cash” if it also contains securities, repos, or settlement adjustments.

Circle says its Circle Reserve Fund may hold cash, short-dated U.S. Treasuries, and overnight U.S. Treasury repurchase agreements. Circle also says reserve Treasuries and overnight reverse repos may be held in custody accounts, a separately managed account, or that fund. That is why a report may describe a combination of instruments rather than a cash-only reserve.

Match reserve assets with tokens outstanding

Find the total reserve assets and the corresponding circulating or outstanding token amount for the same measurement date. Check whether the accountant’s conclusion says reserve assets meet or exceed the relevant amount, and note any adjustments or exclusions. Do not compare a current circulation figure with an older reserve report.

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A reserve ratio describes coverage, not composition. A ratio of 100% or more does not show whether the backing is cash, Treasury bills, repos, fund interests, or a mix. Read the asset table separately.

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Check what the accountant’s report actually covers

Read the accountant’s report itself, not only the issuer’s summary. Record the accountant, applicable standard, date or dates examined, assertions addressed, and any stated qualifications or limitations. An examination or attestation of management’s assertions is not automatically a full financial-statement audit of the entire issuer, and a point-in-time conclusion does not establish conditions on other dates.

New York State Department of Financial Services guidance dated June 8, 2022 describes monthly independent CPA examination of specified management assertions for issuers within its scope. Those assertions include reserve market value by asset class, units outstanding, and reserve adequacy at specified times; the guidance also describes a separate annual report concerning internal controls. Its requirements apply within the guidance’s defined regulatory scope, not automatically to every stablecoin issuer.

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Check custody, legal claims, and redemption separately

Custody and claims

Look for the custodian, account structure, segregation language, liens or competing claims, and whether the disclosures establish that a token holder has a direct claim on the issuer or reserve assets. An issuer’s statement that reserves are held at an insured bank does not by itself mean each stablecoin holder has deposit-insurance coverage.

The U.S. Treasury’s 2021 Report on Stablecoins explains that pass-through deposit-insurance treatment depends on how deposits are structured and whether applicable requirements are met. Without that treatment, the report says insurance may apply only to the issuer’s deposit up to the applicable limit. It cites $250,000 as the standard bank deposit-insurance limit in that context; this is not a guarantee that a stablecoin or its holders are insured, and the report is not a statement of current law.

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Redemption access

Read the redemption policy alongside the reserve report. Check who may redeem directly, whether onboarding or minimum amounts apply, the timing and fees, and any provisions for suspension or delay. A reserve report does not establish that every holder has a direct route to exchange tokens for dollars or can do so immediately.

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The 2022 NYDFS guidance describes a policy for timely redemption at par for lawful holders within its scope and requires public availability of reserve and redemption disclosures under that guidance. Issuer eligibility and redemption terms vary; consult the issuer’s current terms rather than assuming the policy applies to your token or account.

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Compare issuers on the same basis

If you compare stablecoins, use reports with the same measurement date where possible. A useful comparison keeps asset composition, coverage, assurance, custody, and redemption access distinct:

What to compare What to look for
Asset composition Cash and deposits, direct Treasury holdings, repos, government money-market funds, and other assets; note combined categories and footnotes.
Maturity and liquidity Whether Treasury maturities, repo terms, and custody details are disclosed clearly.
Coverage Reserve value and units outstanding for the same date, including adjustments.
Assurance Accountant, standard, scope, report frequency, examination date, and limitations.
Custody and claims Custodian, segregation, competing claims, and what the disclosure establishes about a holder’s claim.
Redemption Eligible users, onboarding, minimums, fees, timing, and any suspension or delay terms.

Do not treat a disclosure frequency or regulatory requirement for one issuer or jurisdiction as universal. For example, U.S. Code text surfaced in a search result describes monthly reserve-composition disclosures that include average tenor and geographic custody information by category, but its current statutory and implementing status and applicability should be confirmed before relying on it as an issuer obligation.

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Examples of how to interpret dated figures

The following figures illustrate why both composition and report scope matter. They are dated examples, not current recommendations; check the linked primary reports before quoting or relying on the amounts.

USDC: a ratio does not make mixed categories cash

A StableRegistry ledger citing a Deloitte examination for July 31, 2026 reported total reserve assets of $71,904,101,332 and USDC in circulation of $71,826,453,410, a 100.11% ratio. It reported 84.44% in the Circle Reserve Fund, which contained U.S. Treasury securities, Treasury repos, cash, and timing or settlement adjustments. The remaining 15.56% was a mixed category of Treasury securities, regulated-institution cash, and adjustments—not cash alone. The ledger identifies Deloitte & Touche LLP and AICPA attestation standards. Confirm figures and scope in the linked Circle disclosures and underlying Deloitte report.

USDT: a reserve portfolio can include non-cash assets

A StableRegistry ledger describing BDO’s report as of March 31, 2026 reported reserves of $191.77 billion against digital-token liabilities of $183.44 billion. It described a mixed portfolio including 61.0% U.S. Treasury bills with a 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. Those figures describe the report date and its defined assurance scope, not other dates or non-financial activity. Follow the ledger’s link to the primary report before using the figures.

RLUSD: issuer wording is not an asset-by-asset breakdown

Ripple says RLUSD is backed by U.S. dollars and other cash equivalents held in segregated accounts, and that it provides monthly third-party CPA reports on circulation and reserve composition. Its page displayed balances as of October 1, 2026. The issuer description alone does not establish the amount in each asset category; use the dated report itself for that breakdown.

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