USDP (Paxos) and surprisingly, BUSD (Binance USD) which is just a white labeled version of USDP, also managed by Paxos.

Is it true the USD in USDC can be held in 'approved assets'. ie shitcoins?

What’s the reason of holding USDC, isn’t that same as holding cash in bank?

It can be used in smart contracts, DeFi (such as a decentralized crypto exchange or earning interest), and can be used for very fast transfers between centralized exchanges/services that might not allow actual USD deposits/withdrawals or that require waiting for an ACH transfer to go through. Several cryptocurrencies are good for transferring between centralized services, but USDC will be price stable in comparison. Fees can be a problem though.

The problem is other stable coins are not transparent, and are very likely not fully funded so they can collapse any time. USDC is by coinbase and a little more transparent, thus less likely to collapse in case of mass withdrawal.

Keeping your money on chain but not subject to price fluctuations.

There’s also pro and anti arguments for being in control of your assets.

The most attractive thing for me is earning 12% interest on Crypto.com. I like risk, so it works for me.

IIRC USDP (Formerly PAX) is audited and completely backed.

UST?