1. Introdução
As stablecoins há muito são vistas como uma ferramenta importante contra a volatilidade do mercado criptográfico devido às suas propriedades ancoradas no preço. No entanto, embora as stablecoins tradicionais (como USDT e USDC) proporcionem conveniência nas transações e estabilidade de valor, as suas limitações devido à falta de capacidades de valorização de ativos surgiram gradualmente.
As stablecoins que rendem juros, como BUIDL, USDe e USD0, como tipos emergentes de stablecoins, estão crescendo rapidamente e atraindo atenção generalizada. Ao contrário das stablecoins tradicionais, as stablecoins que rendem juros podem não apenas manter a relativa estabilidade dos preços, mas também proporcionar aos detentores retornos de investimento adicionais através de modelos de receitas inovadores. Esta característica não só atende à demanda do mercado por ativos seguros, mas também traz a possibilidade de antiinflação aos investidores, tornando-se um novo favorito entre os investidores no mercado atual.
This article will start from the definition and operational mechanism of interest-bearing stablecoins, deeply analyze their unique advantages and market demand, and explore the challenges they face and their future development potential, providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of interest-bearing stablecoins.
II. Overview of interest-bearing stablecoins
1. What are interest-bearing stablecoins
Interest-bearing stablecoins are a new type of cryptocurrency that not only possess value-stabilizing characteristics but also bring considerable returns to their holders. Their core feature lies in the innovative yield models, enabling holders to achieve asset appreciation without excessive active management. These stablecoins combine the stability of traditional stablecoins with the return capabilities of investment tools, providing users with a new financial experience.
The characteristics of interest-bearing stablecoins mainly include:
Price stability: Pegged to fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar, maintaining a 1:1 exchange rate.
Yield: By investing in low-risk assets (such as government bonds), staking native tokens, or structured financial strategies, users are provided with returns.
Liquidity: Maintaining high liquidity, which can be used for trading or redemption at any time.
Interest-bearing stablecoins not only expand the functional boundaries of traditional stablecoins but also provide users with more attractive holding reasons through earning potential, making them a new choice for investors.
2. Core advantages
(1) Against inflation: In the context of an unstable global economic environment and persistently high inflation levels, the purchasing power of fiat currency is gradually declining. Interest-bearing stablecoins provide an effective means of preserving and appreciating value by allocating asset income to holders, such as interest returns from investing in short-term treasury bonds.
(2) Providing diversified sources of income: The yield models of interest-bearing stablecoins vary by project, including:
Government bond investment returns: Like BUILD and USD0, stable annual returns of around 5% can be obtained by holding short-term U.S. Treasury bonds.
Structured strategy returns: Like USDe, tools such as financial derivatives and hedging can bring investors floating annual returns of up to 30%.
Staking rewards: Like FRAX and eUSD, using ETH staking or blockchain ecosystem returns offers higher annual returns.
(3) Enhanced user participation: Through the transparent mechanisms of smart contracts, users can not only clearly understand the sources of returns but also directly participate in on-chain governance and ecosystem building. This model reduces centralized operational interventions, providing users with higher security and trust.
III. Representative projects of interest-bearing stablecoins
1. USDe
USDe is a new synthetic dollar stablecoin developed by Ethena Labs, aimed at providing a decentralized, scalable, and censorship-resistant stablecoin solution.
Operational mechanism: The core mechanism of USDe is to maintain a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar through a delta-neutral strategy. Whitelisted users (usually institutions, exchanges, and whales) can use crypto assets such as ETH, BTC, USDT, and stETH as collateral to mint USDe. Ethena Labs uses these collaterals to open corresponding short perpetual contracts or futures positions to hedge price fluctuations, ensuring the value stability of USDe. This strategy allows USDe to achieve stability and scalability without over-collateralization.
Currently, ordinary users cannot directly deposit ETH or BTC to mint USDe, but can purchase USDe through stablecoin assets (such as USDT, USDC, DAI, crvUSD, etc.), thus avoiding liquidation risks.
The returns of USDe mainly come from the following two aspects:
Staking returns: When users use liquid staking tokens (such as stETH) as collateral, these tokens generate staking returns, including inflation rewards from the consensus layer, transaction fees from the execution layer, and maximum extractable value (MEV). These returns accumulate over time, enhancing the value of USDe.
Funding rates and basis returns: In perpetual contracts and futures markets, traders holding long positions usually need to pay funding fees to those holding short positions. Additionally, the basis of the futures contract (the difference between futures and spot prices) can also yield returns. Ethena Labs uses these mechanisms to provide additional sources of income for USDe holders.
Staking USDe can yield sUSDe to enjoy staking rewards. The yield of USDe fluctuates based on market volatility and changes in funding rates of hedge positions. It once reached an annual yield of 80% (APY), and according to data from December 26, the current yield of sUSDe is approximately 8.64%.
Source: https://app.ethena.fi/dashboards/apy
In addition, Ethena Labs announced the launch of USDtb on December 16, which provides USDe holders with a tool to 'cope with challenging market conditions'. When market changes occur, Ethena can close the hedging positions behind USDe and reallocate its supporting assets to USDtb to further reduce risk. 90% of USDtb's reserves are backed by BlackRock's BUIDL, with the remaining 10% provided by stablecoins like USDC.
2. USD0
USD0 is a decentralized stablecoin issued by Usual Labs, pegged 1:1 to the U.S. dollar, aimed at providing users with a safe, transparent, and compliant digital dollar alternative.
Operational mechanism: USD0 is supported by a basket of tokenized real-world assets (RWA), primarily including ultra-short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and other highly liquid, low-risk financial instruments. These assets are tokenized through partners (e.g., Hashnote) and managed and verified on-chain. Users can mint equivalent USD0 by depositing these tokenized assets, ensuring that each USD0 is backed by real assets.
USD0 itself does not directly generate returns, but users can choose to convert it into USD0++, which is a liquid staking token (LDT). By holding USD0++, users can obtain the following returns:
Base interest: USD0++ holders are entitled to the base returns generated by their collateralized real-world assets, such as interest income from U.S. Treasury bonds. These returns are regularly distributed through the protocol to ensure holders receive stable returns.
Protocol growth yield: In addition to base returns, USD0++ holders can also participate in governance and decision-making of the protocol by receiving the governance token $USUAL. As the protocol develops and its adoption increases, the value of $USUAL may rise, bringing additional returns to holders.
Currently, the yield of USD0++ reaches as high as 56%. Additionally, holders can participate in the protocol's growth returns by earning $USUAL tokens. It is important to note that the staking period for USD0++ is four years, and holders should consider the liquidity constraints brought by this long-term lock-up.
Source: https://usual.money/
3. BUIDL
BlackRock launched its first tokenized fund, BUIDL (BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund), on the Ethereum network in March 2024, aimed at providing investors with investment opportunities in digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Operational mechanism: The BUIDL fund issues tokenized shares on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing investors to digitally hold and trade fund shares. The fund's assets primarily invest in highly liquid, low-risk financial instruments such as cash, U.S. Treasury bonds, and repurchase agreements, ensuring that each BUIDL token is backed by real assets, striving to maintain a stable value of $1 per token.
Investors holding BUIDL tokens can receive the following returns:
Daily accrued dividends: BUIDL tokens calculate accrued earnings daily and pay them directly to investors' wallets in the form of new tokens each month. This means that investors' returns will be reflected in the form of token increments, increasing the number of BUIDL tokens they hold.
Flexible transfer and custody: Investors can transfer their tokens to other pre-approved investors at any time, providing high liquidity. Additionally, fund participants have flexible custody options and can choose different ways to hold tokens.
As of December 26, 2024, the total asset value of the BUIDL fund has exceeded $620 million and expanded to five other blockchains beyond Ethereum, including Polygon, OP Mainnet of Optimism, Avalanche, Arbitrum, and Aptos. Currently, its yield is approximately 4.5%, similar to the yield of U.S. short-term treasury bonds during the same period.
Source: https://app.rwa.xyz/assets/BUIDL
4. USDY
USDY (Ondo U.S. Dollar Yield) is a yield-bearing dollar token launched by Ondo Finance, aimed at providing investors with a yield-bearing digital asset pegged to the U.S. dollar.
Operational mechanism: The value of USDY is supported by highly liquid, low-risk financial instruments such as short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and bank demand deposits. Investors can use stablecoins like USDC to purchase USDY, and holding USDY is equivalent to indirectly holding these underlying assets. The yield of USDY is realized through interest income from underlying assets, compounded daily, and distributed monthly to holders. It is important to note that USDY is only available to non-U.S. individuals and institutional investors, with a 40-day lock-up period post-purchase during which transfer is not allowed.
Holders of USDY can receive the following returns:
Yield from underlying assets: The short-term U.S. Treasury bonds and bank deposits represented by USDY generate interest income, which is directly distributed to investors after deducting management fees.
Compound returns: The yield of USDY is compounded daily and distributed monthly, and the value of investors' holdings increases over time.
As of December 26, 2024, the annual yield of USDY is approximately 4.65%, with total asset value exceeding $450 million, supporting multiple blockchain networks including Ethereum, Solana, Mantle, Noble, Sui, Arbitrum, etc.
Source: https://app.rwa.xyz/assets/USDY
5. FRAX
FRAX is an innovative stablecoin that belongs to the Frax Finance protocol, maintaining a 1:1 peg to the U.S. dollar through a combination of partial collateralization and algorithmic mechanisms.
Operating mechanism: FRAX adopts a mixed mechanism of fractional reserve and algorithmic stability. Specifically, each FRAX stablecoin minting requires a certain proportion of collateral (such as USDC) and governance tokens (FXS). For example, when the collateral ratio (CR) is 90%, minting one FRAX requires 0.9 USDC and 0.1 FXS. When market demand increases, the system mints more FRAX to meet the demand; conversely, when demand decreases, the system reduces the supply of FRAX. This dynamic adjustment mechanism helps maintain FRAX's peg to the U.S. dollar.
Frax Finance has introduced the Algorithmic Market Operations Controller (AMO), allowing the monetary policy of FRAX to be managed through open market operations rather than solely relying on collateral. This flexibility enables FRAX to respond more effectively to market fluctuations.
Holders of FRAX can earn returns in the following ways:
Interest income: Users can earn interest by staking USDC or FXS. The staked assets will be used to support the liquidity and stability of FRAX while users can also receive corresponding returns.
Liquidity mining: Users can earn additional rewards by providing liquidity (such as providing liquidity for FRAX in decentralized exchanges). These rewards are typically distributed in the form of FXS or other tokens.
Governance token FXS: Users holding FXS can participate in protocol governance and earn returns through minting taxes, minting/redeeming fees, etc. Additionally, the value of FXS may rise with the success of the protocol, providing capital appreciation opportunities for holders.
As of December 26, 2024, the annual yield of USDY is approximately 10%, with a market capitalization exceeding $646 million.
Source: https://facts.frax.finance/
Recently, Securitize Markets submitted a governance proposal to Frax Finance, suggesting that BlackRock's BUIDL token be included in the reserves of the FRAX stablecoin. This collaboration with BlackRock significantly reduces counterparty risks for its reserves. If the proposal is approved, FRAX will adopt BUIDL tokens as supporting assets, just like Ethena's USDtb.
IV. Development potential of interest-bearing stablecoins
1. Market environment drivers
In recent years, the global economy has faced continued high uncertainty, with multiple factors driving investor demand for stable assets, such as inflation, geopolitical conflicts, and adjustments in monetary policy.
(1) Inflationary pressures: The global inflation rate remains high, leading to a decline in the real purchasing power of fiat currencies. Interest-bearing stablecoins provide investors with effective inflation-hedging tools through treasury yields or staking returns.
(2) Market volatility and hedging demand: The stock market and cryptocurrency market are highly volatile, leading funds to flow into lower-risk assets. Stablecoins serve as hedging tools, providing value stability, while interest-bearing stablecoins enhance attractiveness.
(3) Changes in interest rate environment: With the Fed's interest rate hikes, the yields of low-risk assets (like short-term treasury bonds) are rising, providing stable income sources for interest-bearing stablecoins. This yield model attracts more institutional and individual investors seeking stable returns.
2. Core needs of investors
The rise of interest-bearing stablecoins stems not only from changes in the market environment but also from their ability to meet the needs of multi-layered investors.
(1) High security: The reserve assets of interest-bearing stablecoins are mostly short-term government bonds or high-quality crypto assets, whose low-risk characteristics meet the needs of risk-averse investors. Compared to traditional bank deposits, interest-bearing stablecoins avoid liquidity and credit risks of commercial banks.
(2) Yield: Compared to traditional stablecoins with 'zero yield', the annual return rate of interest-bearing stablecoins (5%-30%) is highly attractive. This yield not only attracts individual investors but also draws institutional funds.
(3) Diverse application scenarios: Interest-bearing stablecoins can be used in various scenarios such as DeFi lending, liquidity provision, and cross-border payments, offering investors flexible asset allocation choices. For example, users can participate in higher yield investment opportunities by converting USD0 staking to USD0++.
3. Industry trends
As investor demands continue to evolve, interest-bearing stablecoins are becoming the innovation engine of the entire crypto market.
(1) Rapid growth of market size: According to the latest data, the total market value of interest-bearing stablecoins has surpassed $200 billion and is maintaining a continuous growth trend. Emerging stablecoin projects like USDe and USD0 are attracting significant capital inflows, indicating a rapid rise in user demand for high-yield stablecoins.
(2) Diversification of product types: The variety of interest-bearing stablecoins is continually expanding, moving from single yield models (like government bonds) to multiple yield models (like staking and structured strategies). For example, USDe stands out with its flexible structured financial strategies, while USDY focuses on low-risk treasury yield markets.
(3) Integration with traditional finance: Traditional financial institutions are gradually entering the field of interest-bearing stablecoins; for instance, the BlackRock-supported BUIDL fund has become an important player in this area. This integration not only enhances the legitimacy of interest-bearing stablecoins but also attracts more institutional users.
V. Potential risks and challenges of interest-bearing stablecoins
1. Sustainability of returns
The attractiveness of interest-bearing stablecoins lies in their earning potential, but this characteristic may also be constrained by multiple external factors.
(1) Yield models rely on external markets: For instance, a decline in treasury yields may weaken the attractiveness of interest-bearing stablecoins based on treasury returns.
(2) Uncertainty in the crypto market: The yields of stablecoins based on crypto asset staking are closely related to the price volatility of the crypto market. Once the market undergoes drastic fluctuations, staking returns may struggle to cover the risks.
(3) Increased competition leading to yield races: As the variety of interest-bearing stablecoins increases and competition intensifies, different projects can only attract more users by raising yield rates, leading to yield races. However, high yields imply high risks, creating a dilemma for projects on how to balance sustained high yields and safety.
(4) Interventions in macroeconomic policy: Central bank monetary policy adjustments, such as interest rate hikes or cuts, directly affect treasury yields, thereby changing the yield levels of interest-bearing stablecoins based on treasury investments. In the context of rapid changes in the global financial environment, the sustainability of yield models may face challenges.
2. Lack of liquidity and use cases
Interest-bearing stablecoins face a trade-off between high yields and liquidity, which may limit their application and growth.
(1) Liquidity risk: Interest-bearing stablecoins often require locking assets to generate returns, which may lead to insufficient liquidity, especially during heightened market volatility, where increased redemption demand may trigger liquidity crises. Some protocols use complex staking mechanisms that may further reduce the liquidity of users' funds.
(2) Limitations of use cases: Compared to traditional stablecoins, the application scenarios of interest-bearing stablecoins are not yet rich enough, mainly concentrated in the asset appreciation domain. In scenarios requiring high liquidity, such as payments and trade settlements, interest-bearing stablecoins may struggle to compete with traditional stablecoins.
3. Technical and contractual risks
Interest-bearing stablecoins rely on smart contracts and blockchain technology, which bring transparency and efficiency but also introduce technical risks.
(1) Smart contract vulnerabilities: Defects in smart contract code can lead to protocols being hacked, resulting in financial losses. Although many interest-bearing stablecoin protocols have undergone audits, contract risks always exist, especially in complex yield mechanisms.
(2) Black swan events: Technical failures, blockchain network congestion, or external attacks may lead to a temporary interruption of the redemption function of interest-bearing stablecoins. For example, during spikes in on-chain trading volume or cross-chain bridge issues, users may be unable to access liquidity in a timely manner.
(3) Insufficient risk management: Certain projects may overlook risk management measures during rapid expansion, such as failing to establish adequate insurance funds or effectively managing reserve assets. This situation may lead to the inability of stablecoins to maintain their pegged value during market turmoil.
4. Regulatory and compliance pressures
Interest-bearing stablecoins, as an innovative financial tool, are receiving high attention from global regulatory agencies.
(1) Global regulatory trends: Governments worldwide are strengthening regulations on stablecoins, such as the EU's MiCA legislation and the U.S. stablecoin legislative draft, which impose higher requirements on reserve assets, transparency, and compliance. Regulatory agencies may pay special attention to whether the yield distribution model of interest-bearing stablecoins complies with financial regulations.
(2) Conflict between decentralization and compliance: The decentralized characteristics of interest-bearing stablecoins may conflict with compliance requirements (such as KYC/AML), which may limit their market expansion. For instance, some projects may need to give up part of their decentralized characteristics to meet regulatory requirements, undermining their core competitiveness.
(3) Increased operating costs: To meet regulatory requirements, interest-bearing stablecoin projects may need to allocate more resources for compliance audits, transparency disclosures, etc., which could raise operational costs and lower investment returns.
VI. Conclusion and Outlook
The rise of interest-bearing stablecoins has not only changed the landscape of the stablecoin sector but also injected new vitality into the cryptocurrency realm. As a type of asset that combines both stability and profitability, interest-bearing stablecoins successfully integrate the stability of traditional stablecoins with the value-adding capabilities of innovative financial tools, providing investors with a new asset choice and becoming an important component of the crypto market, gradually attracting attention from the traditional financial sector.
Looking ahead, interest-bearing stablecoins may occupy a significant share in the stablecoin market, becoming mainstream financial instruments. Expanding from asset appreciation to more application scenarios such as payments, insurance, and savings, they may become a new type of reserve asset in the digital economy era, promoting the global financial system towards a more open, transparent, and efficient direction.
