Circle USYC (USYC) Cryptocurrency
Core Technology and Blockchain Architecture
Circle USYC is a digital asset token that serves as a digital representation of a share of the Hashnote International Short Duration Fund Ltd., a Cayman Islands registered mutual fund. The Fund has appointed Circle International Bermuda Limited, a Bermuda Monetary Authority licensed digital asset business, as its token administrator, responsible for the management of USYC on behalf of the Fund.
USYC is the onchain representation of Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund Ltd., which invests in short-term US Treasury Bills and performs repo/reverse-repo activity as the underlying asset of the USYC token. Tokenization enables the fund to deliver rapid transactions, onchain transparency, and seamless composability—while maintaining strong controls across regulatory and credit dimensions.
Interacting with USYC onchain is seamless through an audited smart contract, with subscriptions and redemptions available 24/7/365 that settle atomically in real time (T+0). USYC integrates with the existing DeFi ecosystem as a standard ERC-20 token.
Primary Use Cases and Real-World Applications
USYC is a yield-bearing, institutional-grade tokenized money market fund with near-instant redeemability to USDC. USYC is one of the top tokenized money market funds, which institutional clients can hold and use as collateral for derivatives trading.
Deribit, a leading crypto derivatives exchange, now accepts USYC as cross-margin collateral for trading futures and options. Binance institutional customers can now hold Circle's USYC and use it as off-exchange collateral for derivatives trades, unlocking more opportunities for yield in a way that is modeled after practices in traditional financial markets.
Developers can use USYC as programmable, yield-bearing collateral in DeFi venues with near-instant settlement in USDC. USYC can be used in a myriad of ways, including as collateral in DeFi, a trading pair, a savings vehicle, in loans and more.
Founding Team, Key Developers, and Project History
In January 2025, Circle acquired Hashnote, which operates a tokenized money market fund with $1.5 billion in assets under management, including Hashnote's USYC digital token. Hashnote's USYC product launched in May 2023.
Hashnote's principals are professionals with a combined 50+ years in traditional finance/banking, options trading, software engineering, and blockchain technology at global trading and investment companies, and the team has been an active participant and pioneer in the institutional digital asset markets.
Circle was founded by Jeremy Allaire and Sean Neville in October 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts, with Allaire and Neville as co-CEOs. Jeremy Allaire became sole CEO.
Tokenomics: Total Supply, Circulating Supply, Distribution, and Inflation/Deflation Mechanics
As of recent data, USYC has a token supply of approximately 1,315,299,736.70 with a circulating supply of 1,315,299,736.70 and a total value of approximately $1,464,619,139.
USYC yield accrues automatically through a rising token price, with no customer staking, claiming, or operational complexity required. Unlike dividend-paying assets, USYC uses an appreciation model – the token itself becomes more valuable over time rather than paying out separate yield tokens.
Assets earn the overnight federal funds rate through reverse repo agreements. Yield is settled daily, with the fund publishing a daily NAV report, and holders can choose to reinvest or redeem.
Consensus Mechanism and Network Security Model
USYC does not operate as a standalone blockchain network with its own consensus mechanism. Rather, the underlying Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund Ltd. invests primarily in reverse repurchase agreements backed by U.S. government securities.
USYC is managed by Circle under the regulation of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, with underlying assets held in a compliant trust account managed by SDYF's CIO, and a third-party auditor publishes daily reserve reports to ensure full alignment between circulating supply and fund holdings.
Key Partnerships and Ecosystem Integrations
According to 3rd-party analysts RWA.xyz, USYC is the largest tokenized treasury and money market fund in the world, with $1.52B deployed into USYC as of January 15, 2025.
DRW, one of the largest institutional crypto traders via its subsidiary Cumberland, will expand its institutional-grade liquidity and settlement capabilities in USDC and USYC, where permitted.
Hashnote's yield-bearing US Yield Coin is now available on the Canton Network, launched by Digital Asset in collaboration with more than 30 financial industry leaders. USYC will be natively issued on BNB Chain, enabling USYC users to more seamlessly explore the onchain world and potential of tokenized traditional assets.
Noble and Hashnote announced a partnership to bring Hashnote products to the Cosmos ecosystem, using Noble as an on-chain asset issuance platform.
Competitive Advantages and Unique Value Proposition
Hashnote's USYC is a yield-bearing ERC-20 token backed by short-term U.S. Treasury securities, offering stable returns without the volatility or counterparty risk of typical crypto yield products.
Unlike standard stablecoins, USYC generates yield automatically without requiring additional actions or risk-taking. Unlike most stablecoins, which maintain their value through U.S. Treasury backing but often provide no direct return to holders, USYC offers both stability and a consistent yield.
By bringing assets onchain, USYC delivers around-the-clock access — free from banking delays, cut-off times, and trading windows. USYC offers investors near-instant fungibility with USDC, Circle's popular stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, meaning users can easily switch between USYC and USDC in real time, enhancing capital efficiency.
Current Development Activity and Roadmap Highlights
Circle announced plans to advance Arc, its institutional-focused layer-1 blockchain, from testnet to production throughout 2026.
Circle highlighted expanding commercial traction for its Circle Payments Network — now supporting flows in eight countries with 29 financial institutions enrolled and 500 more in the pipeline — and noted growth in USYC to roughly $1 billion AUM as of November 8.
USYC on Canton benefits from the network's unique privacy properties, enabling USYC holders to hold and deliver collateral across the Canton Network without anyone other than the issuer and the holder knowing.
Sources:
- https://www.circle.com
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