Stablecoin Peg Watch Screensaver
The Stablecoin Peg Watch screensaver gauges how far major stablecoins currently trade from their real $1.00 peg, drawn key-less and live from CoinGecko's price API. It's free, runs in your browser, and ESC exits.
Live preview
Press ESC to leave fullscreen. Settings are saved in your browser only.
How the Stablecoin Peg Watch screensaver works
The saver fetches real live prices for major stablecoins from CoinGecko, with no key required.
Each coin's real deviation from exactly $1.00 is shown on a gauge, in either direction.
Coins holding their peg tightly stay near center; any real drift shows immediately.
Readings refresh on a schedule to track real market pricing.
What a stablecoin peg is and how it can slip
A stablecoin is a token designed to hold a fixed value, usually one US dollar. The designs differ. Fiat-backed coins hold reserve assets meant to cover the coins in circulation, crypto-collateralised ones lock up other tokens as backing, and algorithmic ones rely on mechanisms and incentives to keep the price in line. Each design carries a different set of risks.
The price on an exchange is set by buying and selling. Peg stability usually depends on being able to exchange the token for its underlying value, typically through issuer redemption, which in many designs is limited to approved parties. If a coin trades below a dollar and redemption works, buyers can profit by redeeming it, which pushes the price back up. When redemption is limited, slow or in doubt, or when the reserves are questioned, that pull weakens and a price can wander.
The gauge shows the gap between market price and one dollar, in either direction. Small deviations are common and can reflect thin order books or timing between venues, and prices aggregated by CoinGecko may differ from a specific exchange. A deviation is a market signal, not a statement about solvency, and nothing here is a recommendation about holding any coin.
A worked example
Under normal conditions every gauge sits close to zero — real, tight peg-holding. A genuine depeg event would show a gauge swing sharply, visible the moment it happens.
Settings & tips
- Accent recolours the gauges.
- Tiny real fluctuations of a few tenths of a cent are normal market noise.
- A sustained large deviation is a genuinely notable real event worth investigating.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a depeg?
- When a stablecoin's real market price drifts meaningfully away from its intended $1.00 value — a real, sometimes serious event in crypto markets.
- Is a key needed?
- No. CoinGecko's public API is free and key-less.
- Which stablecoins are tracked?
- A built-in set of the largest, most widely used dollar-pegged stablecoins.
- Is it free?
- Yes — free, no download, in your browser.
- What causes a stablecoin to trade below its peg?
- Loss of confidence in reserves, heavy selling, or restricted redemption. When arbitrage cannot work smoothly, the market price can drift away from par.
- Is a deviation above a dollar a problem?
- It means demand outweighed supply at that moment. It is still a departure from the peg, and whether it persists depends on how easily new coins can be issued.