The beginner safety guide nobody gave you — until now.
In March 2023, USDC crashed to about $0.87 for a weekend after Silicon Valley Bank collapsed with $3.3B of Circle reserves. This is not theory.
USDC sitting in your own wallet? Nothing moves, nothing liquidates you. You hold an asset temporarily worth less — but you control everything.
Lent on Aave or Compound? Withdrawals can get crowded during a panic. You still get your USDC back — just worth less until the peg recovers.
Arbitrage bots trade against the pool during a depeg. You absorb the worst of the move — impermanent loss becomes very real, very fast.
Splitting across USDC + USDT/DAI softens one issuer's bad weekend. It is damage control, not immunity — in system-wide panics, everything dips together.
The biggest 2023 losses came from people selling at $0.87. The protocol did not take their money — fear did. Size positions so a 15% dip cannot wreck you.
Wallet vs lending vs pools, the honest risk list, my personal 5-point checklist and FAQ — all in the free guide.
Read the Full Guide →