Bar chart showing what $1,000 in a stablecoin is worth if its price falls to $0.97, $0.90, $0.50 and $0.10
Stablecoins are meant to be the calm corner of crypto: one coin is supposed to stay worth one dollar. Many people use them to park money between trades, send payments or earn a yield. But "stable" describes the goal, not a guarantee. Sometimes a stablecoin slips below $1, and a few have collapsed completely.
In this guide you will learn what a depeg is, the main types of stablecoins and how each can fail, what happened in two well-known cases, what a depeg would do to your money (with checkable numbers), and a checklist of questions to ask before you hold one.
Last updated: November 2026.
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