How to use it
- Enter the amount in CAD and the number of years.
- Enter the stablecoin yield you are considering and any yearly platform fee or spread.
- Enter your own yearly probability of a loss event and how much principal it would cost.
- Enter the GIC and HISA rates you want to compare against, and your marginal tax rate.
- Compare the expected, no-loss and loss-event results, and note the breakeven loss probability.
Why the rates are not comparable as quoted
A GIC from a CDIC member institution is an eligible deposit. CDIC insures eligible deposits up to $100,000 per insured category, per member institution, including principal and interest. CDIC states that cryptocurrencies, including stablecoins, are not covered. A HISA can be eligible when it is held at a member institution in an insured category, but CDIC notes that not all HISAs are eligible and that HISA ETFs and HISA mutual funds are not protected.
A stablecoin yield is paid for taking risks that an insured deposit does not carry: issuer and reserve risk, depeg risk, smart contract risk if the coins are lent through a protocol, and custody risk if a platform holds them. The calculator puts a number on those risks only through the estimate you enter.
How the comparison is calculated
The net stablecoin rate is the yield minus fees. Your expected yearly loss is the probability of a loss event multiplied by its severity. Interest is taxed at your marginal rate; the expected loss is then subtracted with no tax relief, which keeps the estimate conservative. Each option compounds yearly for the number of years entered.
Two further outputs frame the range. The loss-event case applies a loss of the chosen severity once. The breakeven probability is the yearly loss probability at which the stablecoin's expected after-tax return falls to the GIC's.
Worked example
Illustrative inputs only, not quoted rates: $10,000; a 7% stablecoin yield with a 0.5% fee; a 3% yearly chance of losing 50% of principal (an expected loss of 1.5% a year); a 3.5% GIC; a 2.5% HISA; a 30% marginal tax rate.
On these inputs, the stablecoin's expected value beats the GIC by $60 after one year. The breakeven yearly loss probability is 4.2%: if you think the chance of a 50% loss is higher than that, the GIC comes out ahead even on an expected basis. The expected figure also hides the range. The outcomes you would actually see are roughly $10,455 or roughly half your money, not $10,305.
| Option | After-tax rate | Value after 1 year | Value after 3 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stablecoin, no loss event | 4.55% | $10,455.00 | $11,428.05 |
| Stablecoin, expected (after 1.5% yearly expected loss) | 3.05% | $10,305.00 | $10,943.19 |
| Stablecoin, loss event happens | — | $5,227.50 | $5,714.02 |
| GIC | 2.45% | $10,245.00 | $10,753.15 |
| HISA | 1.75% | $10,175.00 | $10,534.24 |
Canada's stablecoin law: passed, not yet in force
The federal Stablecoin Act received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026, as part of Bill C-15, but it is not in force. Finance Canada's stablecoin framework calls for issuers to hold reserves 1:1 in high-quality liquid assets in the reference currency, to redeem at par, and not to pay interest or yield, and it expects the framework to come into force in 2027. Draft regulations were published for consultation in October 2026.
Under that framework, a fiat-backed stablecoin would not itself pay interest; any yield would come from lending or other activities layered on top, with their own risks. None of this makes a stablecoin an insured deposit. See regulation for the current state of Canadian rules.
Tax and what the estimate leaves out
The calculator applies your marginal rate to both yields, treating stablecoin rewards like interest income. CRA has not published guidance specific to stablecoin lending or DeFi yield, and actual treatment depends on your facts. A GIC held in a TFSA or RRSP would be taxed differently again. See capital vs business income.
The probability and severity are your estimates; no one can supply a reliable figure. The model also ignores CAD/USD exchange-rate moves for a USD stablecoin, which can be larger than the yield difference, and it assumes every rate stays the same across all years.