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Stablecoin Stability Assessment: First Digital USD (FDUSD)

We assess First Digital USD's (FDUSD's) ability to maintain its peg to the U.S. dollar at 4 (constrained). Our asset assessment is 3 (adequate) due to limited information on the identity or creditworthiness of the financial institutions that hold the stablecoin's reserves, and which thereby represent potential counterparty risk exposure. FDUSD is backed by reserves comprising low-risk assets, such as short-term U.S. treasury bills, as well as cash and cash equivalents in U.S. dollars. The reserves are held by a custodian, First Digital Trust Ltd., a public trust company registered in Hong Kong, and at financial institutions in Switzerland, Australia, and Hong Kong. Our stablecoin stability assessment of 4 includes a negative adjustment from the asset assessment. We see weaknesses in relation to the absence of asset segregation to protect holders in the event of the issuer's insolvency and lack of a regulatory framework. We also note limitations regarding FDUSD's primary redeemability.

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