Pax Dollar
A-
Paxos, the issuer of USDP, is regulated as a stablecoin issuer by the NYDFS, and therefore subject to stringent guidelines and monitoring requirements. USDP is substantially the same as its more widely used and popular sibling BUSD, but without the co-branding arrangement with Binance.
USDP's reserves comprise short dated US Treasuries, highly liquid assets backed by US Treasuries and cash in fully segregated and bankruptcy-remote accounts.
Although USDP is designed to be institutional-grade, regulatory compliant and customer protection-focused, it is not widely used in the crypto markets. Therefore, USDP is most suitable for (a) making and receiving cross-border payments and (b) passive stablecoin holders who seek exposure to USD but cannot or do not want to hold USD in a bank account.
USDP's rating can be upgraded from A- to A by:
disclosing the names of its banks and custodians OR
tightening USDP's peg through improved liquidity on secondary markets.
Pax Dollar
Stability
Stable
Stable
The Stability factor is evaluated on the following:
1. Reserves Management - Quality, quantity, storage and segregation of reserve assets
2. Market Feedback - Indicators of market's confidence in a stablecoin derived from price and trade data
3. Mechanism - Stabilization methods that protect the stablecoin
Pax Dollar
Management
Very Low Risk
Very Low Risk
The Management factor is evaluated on the following:
1. Restrictions - What deterrents exist to prevent key personnel of stablecoin projects from unethical and illegal behavior?
2. Negative Track Record - Have key personnel been involved in scams, frauds or other illegal activities?
Pax Dollar
Implementation
Not Assessed
Not Assessed
This factor aims to assess risks arising from technical implementations – i.e, smart contract code and oracles. It is currently not assessed, but we plan for it to be evaluated in the future.
Pax Dollar
Decentralization
High Risk
High Risk
The Decentralization factor is evaluated on the following:
1. Platform Censorship Risk
2. Custodian Risk
3. Type of Collateral
4. Diversified voting Power
5. User Censorship Risk
Pax Dollar
Governance
Very Low Risk
Very Low Risk
The Governance factor for fiat-backed stablecoins is evaluated on the following:
1. Holder Protection - What rules, statutes or code exist to protect interests of stablecoin holders?
2. Reserves Verification - What checks are done to ensure existence of reserves?
3. Redemptions - Do issuers have transparent and reasonable redemption terms?
Pax Dollar
Externals
Not Assessed
Not Assessed
This factor seeks to incorporate external feedback mechanisms such as market and social sentiment into our internal ratings. It is currently not assessed, but we plan for it to be evaluated in the future.