Conversion Margins on Stablecoin, Measured

Converting a dollar-pegged stablecoin to euros involves two things and providers quote neither clearly.

The two legs

The stablecoin to dollar leg. The coin usually trades slightly off its peg, by a few basis points. A provider can pass that through or absorb it.

The dollar to euro leg. A currency conversion, where the margin is entirely the provider’s choice.

What measurement shows

Across providers, total margins ranging from roughly 0.2 percent to over 1.1 percent for the same conversion at the same moment. The figures below assume a provider that itemises, and a USDT payment gateway is one.

A spread of almost a percentage point, on a conversion between two things that both track stable values.

The wide end is comparable to a retail bank’s currency margin, which is not what anyone expects from a crypto service.

The disclosure situation

Providers typically show an output amount rather than an applied rate.

An output amount allows the margin to be calculated afterwards. It does not allow comparison before committing, which is the point at which it would be useful. On the merchant side the equivalent is Collect & Exchange, priced per transaction rather than per balance.

Ask for the rate that will be applied. A provider that will not state it before execution is charging more than it wants to say.

The structural fix

Settle in the currency you actually need.

Repeating the measurement settling to a dollar account rather than a euro one, the margins collapse to roughly 0.1 to 0.3 percent, because only the stablecoin leg remains.

The currency leg was most of the cost, and it is avoidable by holding an account in the settlement currency.

The measurement method

Note the interbank rate at the moment. Record the stablecoin amount converted and the fiat received. Divide and compare.

Two minutes, and it is the only figure worth comparing between providers.

What to record ongoing

The applied rate on every conversion.

After a month you have a real figure for your provider, which is what you compare against a competitor’s quote rather than against their marketing.

Where the attention belongs

Businesses spend time comparing transfer fees of a unit or two and accept conversion margins of a percent on the same transaction. For the published numbers behind these calculations, Collect & Exchange itemises them.

The ratio between those two costs, on any meaningful amount, is several hundred to one.