© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.
Here's the deal: If you're dipping into DeFi trading this year, stablecoins are your best friend. They keep your value steady while you swap, lend, or farm yields without getting wrecked by crypto volatility. I usually stick to these six for most of my trades-USDT, USDC, DAI, PYUSD, TUSD, and this new kid HLUSD. Why these? Deep liquidity on Solana, Ethereum L2s, and beyond. Super low slippage. And they play nice with top DEXs like Jupiter and Raydium.
But look, DeFi ain't just holding-it's about moving fast. These coins let you arbitrage, provide liquidity, or loop into perps without sweating price swings. In my experience, starting with $500 in one of these gets you rolling without much risk. Sound good? Let's break 'em down, then I'll show you how to actually use 'em.
USDT's everywhere. Seriously, it's on Solana, Ethereum, Base, you name it. Pegged to the dollar, backed by reserves-though transparency's been iffy in the past. For DeFi trading? Unbeatable liquidity. Jupiter swaps $700M daily, and half that's probably USDT pairs.
The thing is, it's got the most volume. Want to trade SOL/USDT on Raydium? Fees around 0.25%, gas like 0.000005 SOL. Slippage under 0.1% on big pools. But watch depegs-rare now, but in 2024 it dipped to $0.95. Fix? Swap to USDC quick if it happens.
I usually pair it with yield farming on Kamino. Deposit USDT, borrow against it, loop back in. Yields hit 8-12% APY lately. Why does this matter? Stable base for perps on Drift-trade BTC perps with USDT collateral, no volatility eating your margin.
Downside? Regulators sniffing around. But for US traders, it's fine on DEXs.
Okay, USDC's my go to for anything institutional feeling. Circle backs it fully, monthly audits. Peg holds like glue-never depegged more than 0.5 cents. In DeFi, it's king on Solana with $2.8B TVL in Kamino alone.
Trading it? Orca's fair price indicator loves USDC pairs. Set slippage to 0.5%, it pings CoinGecko prices. Gas? Pennies on Solana. I swapped 10k USDC to SOL last week-0.000003 SOL fee, done in 400ms.
What's next for you? Lend on Jupiter Lend-high LTV like 80%, integrate with perps. Yields 5-10%. Issue? Blacklisting fears, but rare for retail. Revoke approvals on Revoke.cash if paranoid.
Honestly, if you're new, start here. Stable, audited, everywhere.
DAI's different. No bank reserves-overcollateralized with crypto on MakerDAO. Ethereum based but bridged everywhere via LayerZero. Peg's solid at $1.00, thanks to smart contracts adjusting supply.
For DeFi trading, it's yield farming gold. Aave or Compound: deposit DAI, earn 4-8% while borrowing more. Loop it three times, APYs stack to 15%+. But impermanent loss? Provide DAI/ETH LP on Uniswap-watch IL via APY.vision.
In my experience, Solana bridges are fast now. Portal bridge: 0.001 SOL fee, 30s. Trade DAI/USDC arb on Jupiter-prices differ 0.2%, pocket the diff. Problem? High gas on ETH mainnet-stick to Base or Arbitrum.
Pretty much risk free if you collateralize right.
PYUSD hit big in 2025. PayPal backed, on Solana and Ethereum. Fully reserved, real time proofs. Liquidity exploded-Jupiter integrates it natively for perps.
Trading edge? Cross border fast. Send PYUSD P2P, zero fees under $1k. In DeFi, Raydium pools give tight spreads. Swapped 5k PYUSD to USDC-0.15% fee, no slippage.
But it's newer, TVL smaller. Yields higher though-12% on Save protocol. I use it for arbitrage: PYUSD cheaper on Base, sell on Solana. Why bother? 0.3-0.5% spreads daily.
Issue? Limited chains still. Bridge via deBridge if needed.
TUSD's all about those escrow audits. Third party checks every week, dollars in bank. Peg? Rock solid. DeFi traders love it for lending-Jupiter Lend LTV 85%.
How I trade it: Concentrated liquidity on Raydium. Set range $0.999-$1.001, earn 0.3% fees per trade. TVL $500M+, so volume's there. Gas negligible.
The thing is, it's less hyped, so better rates. Farm on Kamino-rewards in KMNO tokens, stake for extra 20% APY. Downside? Slower adoption, fewer pairs. Solve by swapping to USDT mid trade.
HLUSD's blowing up in 2026. Algorithmic tweaks plus reserves-holds peg through volatility. Solana native, deep in Jupiter and Drift.
Why for trading? MEV yields baked in. Provide HLUSD/SOL LP, capture tips. APY 10-15%. I did 2k last month-$45 fees in a week.
Potential issue? Newer, so depeg risk in stress. But dual mech keeps it $0.999-$1.001. Trade perps collateralized-sub-400ms exec on Drift.
Sound familiar? Like early USDC. Get in now.
| Stablecoin | Liquidity (Solana TVL) | Avg Swap Fee | Best For | Depeg Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDT | $5B+ | 0.25% | Volume trades | Low Med |
| USDC | $3B+ | 0.2% | Lending | Very Low |
| DAI | $1.5B | 0.3% | Yield loops | Low |
| PYUSD | $800M | 0.15% | Arbitrage | Low |
| TUSD | $500M | 0.25% | LP providing | Very Low |
| HLUSD | $400M | 0.2% | New yields | Med |
See? USDT wins volume, USDC trust. Pick based on your strat.
Look, first things first. Grab Phantom for Solana-it's free, mobile app killer. Seed phrase? Write on paper, hide it. Hardware? Ledger for big stacks.
Fund it. On ramp USDC via Moonpay-2% fee, instant. Or swap BTC to USDT on Coinbase, bridge via Wormhole. Fees ~$1.
Security: Enable 2FA, use Revoke.cash weekly. Never approve shady contracts. In my experience, this saves headaches.
Jupiter's the hub. $700M daily volume. Routes best prices across Raydium, Orca, etc.
Now reverse: SOL to USDT. Boom, traded. For perps? Jupiter Perps tab-collateral USDC, long BTC 10x. Liquidation? Trail stops at 5%.
Why Jupiter? Aggregrates liquidity. Single swap beats manual routing.
Kamino's top dog-$2.8B TVL. Auto manages positions.
Here's how: Deposit 5k USDC, borrow 4k USDT at 5% rate. Swap borrow to more USDC, redeposit. Loop twice-effective APY 12%. Gauntlet risks it for you.
But watch: Rewards drop after seasons. Pull if APY under 8%. Competition from Jupiter Lend-higher LTV but riskier.
I usually do 20% portfolio here. Rest in LP.
Farming's where money multiplies. Raydium CLMM pools: USDC/USDT, range tight, fees 0.3% split.
Steps:
IL minimal on stables-under 0.1% monthly. Jito for LST boost? Pair with JitoSOL, but depeg risk up.
Arbitrage? Watch DEXscreener. USDT 0.2% cheaper on Orca? Buy, sell Jupiter. Bots do it, but manual works for $1k trades.
Solana's fast, but ETH yields sometimes better. Bridge USDC via Portal-0.001 SOL, 20s. Or deBridge for speed.
Issue? Slippage on bridges. Fix: Small batches, $10k max. Multi chain? Jupiter now supports Base, Arbitrum.
In my experience, 80% Solana, 20% cross. Keeps fees low.
Smart contracts hackable-rare on audited like Kamino. Solution? Diversify protocols.
Impermanent loss? Stables minimize it.
Reg changes? USDT scrutiny. Hold USDC/PYUSD mix.
Start small-$100. Scale as you learn. Hardware wallet always.
Morning: Check Zapper.fi dashboard. Revoke sketchy approvals.
Trade: 30min arb scans on Dexscreener.
Afternoon: Rebalance LPs on Kamino.
Night: Compound yields. Sleep easy.
© 2026 Della Group. All Rights Reserved.