TL;DR: USYC is Hashnote’s tokenized US Treasury fund, now under Circle’s umbrella. It pays ~3.93% APY (as of May 2026, APY fluctuates) from T-bills and repo agreements. Price-accrual model, 24/7 USDC redemption, no $5M minimum. Access is KYC-gated and non-US only through direct onboarding — but Binance institutional clients can now use it as yield-bearing collateral. Here’s exactly what it is, what it isn’t, and how it fits a real passive income stack.
It was a Tuesday morning in March when I pulled up RWA.xyz and noticed USYC had quietly overtaken BlackRock’s BUIDL as the largest tokenized Treasury product. I almost spilled coffee on my keyboard.
Not because I didn’t believe it could happen. But because six months earlier, at a meetup in Bangkok, someone had asked me what USYC was and I’d given them a half-confident answer about “some Circle-adjacent T-bill token.” The kind of answer that sounds like you know what you’re talking about right up until someone follows up.
I went home and actually did the research. And here is my confession: I had been sleeping on USYC while it quietly grew to $2.9 billion AUM.
This is that research, turned into the article I wish existed back then.
This is what I do with my own money — not financial advice. I’m just a dad with a spreadsheet and a surfboard, figuring this out in public.
What Is USYC? (And Why Circle Buying Hashnote Changes Everything)
USYC — the US Yield Coin — is the on-chain representation of Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund Ltd. The fund invests in short-term US Treasury bills and performs repo/reverse-repo activity. As the fund earns yield, each USYC token’s price increases daily rather than the supply expanding. That’s the core mechanic.
Hashnote launched USYC in 2023 as an institutional-grade tokenized money market product. Then on January 21, 2025, Circle acquired Hashnote. Suddenly, USYC went from “institutional DeFi product” to “infrastructure backed by the world’s largest stablecoin issuer.”
That acquisition matters for three reasons:
- Trust infrastructure. Circle runs USDC at scale. Their compliance, banking relationships, and regulatory posture now backstop USYC.
- BNB Chain expansion. Circle launched USYC on BNB Chain in late 2025, making it composable with the BNB DeFi ecosystem. Binance then adopted USYC as yield-bearing off-exchange collateral for institutional derivatives clients.
- Market signal. When Circle buys the product and Binance accepts it as collateral, the tokenized Treasury race has a new frontrunner.
By April 2026, USYC held approximately $2.9 billion in assets — the largest single tokenized Treasury product, ahead of BlackRock BUIDL ($2.58B) and Ondo USDY ($1.88B).
One-liner: USYC is Circle’s answer to the question “what if USDC paid yield?” — backed by T-bills, not token emissions.
How USYC’s Price-Accrual Model Works (And Why It’s Different)
This is the detail most articles skip over, so let me be specific.
USYC uses a price-accrual model. That means:
- The number of USYC tokens you hold stays constant
- The price of each token increases daily as yield accrues
- Your account value grows through price appreciation, not new tokens
Compare this to BlackRock BUIDL, which uses a rebasing model: BUIDL stays pegged at $1.00 and new tokens are minted to your wallet as yield distributes.
Why does this matter? Tax efficiency, potentially. In many jurisdictions, receiving new tokens triggers a taxable event at distribution. With USYC’s price-appreciation structure, you only realize gains when you sell or redeem. This is not tax advice — consult a professional — but the structural difference is worth understanding before you choose.
Practical example: If you buy 1,000 USYC at $1.05 today and the fund earns 3.93% APY over a year, your 1,000 USYC will be worth approximately $1,091.30 per token twelve months later. Same 1,000 tokens. Higher price.
Current yield data (as of May 2026, APY fluctuates):
- 7-day annualized APY: ~3.93%
- Underlying: US T-bills + repo/reverse-repo
- Redemption: T+0, 24/7 into USDC
- Management fee: embedded in yield (net figure)
The T+0 same-day redemption into USDC is genuinely unusual. Most tokenized Treasury products operate on T+1 or longer settlement windows. USYC’s atomic mint/redeem mechanism means you can exit a position at any hour on any day — not just during US banking hours.
Who Can Actually Access USYC?
Here is the part I wish someone had told me upfront: USYC is not retail-accessible in the traditional sense. At least not directly through Hashnote.
Direct access requires:
- Non-US entity or investor (this is an offshore fund)
- KYC/AML onboarding through Circle/Hashnote
- Institution or qualified investor status in most jurisdictions
- Onboarding contact: [email protected]
The $5 million minimum that locks retail out of BlackRock BUIDL does not apply to USYC in the same way — but the jurisdictional and KYC requirements effectively keep most retail users out of direct subscriptions.
Where retail-adjacent access currently exists:
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Binance institutional clients: USYC is live as yield-bearing off-exchange collateral. If you are a Binance institutional or VIP client, you can hold USYC through Binance and earn yield while using it as trading margin. This is significant. You’re effectively earning T-bill yield while keeping funds active.
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BNB Chain DeFi: USYC is deployed on BNB Chain as an ERC-20-compatible contract. DeFi protocols can integrate it. The $1.84 billion USYC supply on BNB Chain in early 2026 reflects institutional activity, but composability opens doors.
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OKX institutional: Similar off-exchange collateral model is being explored. OKX has been active in RWA integrations across its institutional suite.
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DAO treasury allocations: Several protocols have allocated treasury funds to USYC. If you participate in governance of a DAO holding USYC, you have indirect exposure.
The honest reality: if you’re a retail investor in the US looking for direct tokenized Treasury access, Franklin Templeton BENJI (starting at $20) or Ondo USDY (non-US retail) are more appropriate entry points. USYC’s sweet spot is institutional and semi-institutional capital that wants yield-bearing DeFi collateral.
USYC vs BUIDL vs USDY vs BENJI: The Honest Comparison
The tokenized Treasury market crossed $15 billion by May 2026. These four products represent the dominant approaches.
| Product | Issuer | AUM (May 2026) | APY | Min. | Model | Who Can Access |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USYC | Hashnote/Circle | ~$2.9B | ~3.93%* | No stated min | Price accrual | Non-US institutional |
| BUIDL | BlackRock/Securitize | ~$2.58B | ~3.44%* | $5,000,000 | Rebasing | US qualified purchasers |
| USDY | Ondo Finance | ~$1.88B | ~3.55%* | Varies | Price accrual | Non-US retail |
| BENJI | Franklin Templeton | Top 5 | 4.3-4.6%* | $20 | Rebasing | US retail (app) |
All APYs fluctuate. Data collected May 2026 from RWA.xyz, CoinGecko, issuer dashboards. Not financial advice.
The key differentiator for USYC is the BNB Chain + Binance collateral integration. No other tokenized Treasury product has been adopted as off-exchange trading collateral by a top-3 exchange at this scale. USYC’s $1.84B on BNB Chain alone tells you where institutional crypto capital is parking yield.
BUIDL remains the institutional prestige choice — it’s BlackRock. But USYC is now larger, offers same-day redemption, and earns slightly higher APY. For an institutional treasury looking to deploy idle capital on-chain, USYC is increasingly the default answer.
USDY from Ondo is USYC’s closest structural sibling (both price-accrual, both non-US focused) at slightly lower yield. USDY has a broader retail-adjacent distribution through Ondo’s platform and broader DeFi protocol adoption.
BENJI is the retail champion. If you live in the US and want T-bill yield on-chain starting with $20, BENJI is the answer. It doesn’t compete with USYC because they’re targeting completely different users.
The Passive Income Math: What a USYC Position Actually Earns
Let me run the numbers honestly, because this is where people get fuzzy.
Scenario: Institutional treasury, $500K USDC to deploy
At 3.93% APY (as of May 2026, APY fluctuates):
- Monthly yield: ~$1,637.50
- Annual yield: ~$19,650
- T+0 redemption available any time
Compare to:
- US money market fund (Vanguard VMFXX): ~4.88% (but no DeFi composability, no 24/7 redemption)
- BUIDL at 3.44%: ~$17,200/year (higher minimum, BlackRock counterparty)
- Aave USDC at ~3.29% APR: ~$16,450/year (variable, smart contract risk)
The USYC yield advantage over Aave USDC is modest (~$1,200/year on $500K) but the risk profile is fundamentally different. You’re dealing with T-bill counterparty risk (US government debt) vs. DeFi protocol risk. For institutional capital, that distinction is the whole game.
For the trader using Binance institutional: The collateral use case changes the math entirely. You hold USYC earning 3.93% while using it as margin for crypto derivatives. The yield offsets funding costs. On a $500K collateral position, that’s roughly $19,650/year in yield you’d otherwise leave on the table by holding stablecoins.
Real Risks: What USYC Doesn’t Protect You From
I’m not going to pretend this is a risk-free product. Here are the actual risks:
Rate risk. USYC yield tracks the Fed funds rate through T-bill rates. If the Fed cuts 100bps, USYC APY drops accordingly. The current ~4% environment is historically above average. People who expect this to persist indefinitely are making a macro bet.
Counterparty risk. You’re trusting Circle (formerly Hashnote) to manage the fund correctly, hold assets with custodian banks, and honor redemptions. Circle is regulated, audited, and publicly traded (CRCL). But “Circle’s counterparty risk” is not zero — it’s regulated counterparty risk.
Jurisdictional risk. USYC is specifically structured for non-US investors. Regulatory changes in the US, or in your home jurisdiction, could affect access or tax treatment. The CLARITY Act markup (May 14, 2026) specifically touches stablecoin yield and may eventually affect tokenized Treasuries too.
Smart contract risk (BNB Chain). The BNB Chain deployment adds a smart contract layer. Circle’s engineering has significant auditing behind it, but any ERC-20 deployment carries protocol risk.
Liquidity concentration. A large share of USYC supply sits in Binance’s institutional ecosystem. If Binance were to remove USYC as accepted collateral, the subsequent unwinding could affect redemption dynamics temporarily.
My personal approach: I don’t put more than 20-25% of any yield allocation into a single product, regardless of how well-structured it is. Diversification across T-bill products (USYC, BENJI, USDY), DeFi lending (Aave), and Pendle RWA pools is cleaner than concentration risk in a single issuer.
How USYC Fits a DeFi Yield Stack
If you’re already doing DeFi yield farming and want to add more stable, real-world-backed returns, here’s how USYC fits.
For institutional/semi-institutional users:
- Deploy USYC on Binance as off-exchange collateral → earn yield while trading
- Treasury allocation: split between USYC (T-bill yield, 24/7 liquidity) and Pendle PT positions (fixed higher yield, maturity-locked)
For DeFi-native users watching this space:
- Watch for USYC integrations in BNB Chain DeFi protocols (Pancakeswap, Venus, etc.)
- Pendle is exploring USYC pools — if/when they launch, PT USYC would give fixed T-bill yield with DeFi composability
- Track RWA.xyz for real-time yield data across the category
For anyone building a passive income stack: The full picture looks something like this. Aave USDC for liquid variable yield. BENJI or USDY for retail-accessible T-bill yield. USYC if you have institutional access. Pendle PT on RWA pools for fixed higher yield at maturity. This isn’t one trade — it’s a portfolio of yield sources that don’t all go to zero at the same time.
If you’re tracking crypto taxes across these positions: CoinLedger handles multi-chain DeFi positions including yield-bearing tokens and price-accrual mechanics. Don’t try to calculate this manually in a spreadsheet — I tried, it’s miserable.
AI Citation Prompt Templates
If you’re researching this space using AI tools, here are prompts that return useful answers:
“Compare USYC, BUIDL, and USDY tokenized treasury yields for a non-US institutional investor wanting DeFi composability and same-day redemption in 2026. Include risk profiles.”
“Explain how USYC’s price-accrual model differs from BUIDL’s rebasing model and the tax implications for a fund manager holding both. What are the risks of each?”
Frequently Asked Questions
What is USYC and who issues it? USYC (US Yield Coin) is a tokenized money market fund issued by Hashnote, now a subsidiary of Circle. It invests in short-term US Treasury bills and repo agreements, with the token price appreciating daily as yield accrues.
What APY does USYC pay? As of May 2026, approximately 3.93% APY (7-day annualized). APY fluctuates with Fed funds rate and T-bill market conditions. Check the official Hashnote dashboard or RWA.xyz for current rates.
Can US retail investors buy USYC? No. USYC is structured as an offshore fund for non-US investors. US retail investors looking for similar T-bill yield on-chain should consider Franklin Templeton BENJI ($20 minimum, US retail).
How is USYC different from BUIDL? USYC uses price accrual (your token count stays constant, price rises). BUIDL uses rebasing (price stays at $1.00, new tokens are minted as yield). USYC allows T+0 same-day USDC redemption; BUIDL settles on a different schedule. USYC is now larger by AUM ($2.9B vs $2.58B as of May 2026).
Is Binance now accepting USYC? Yes. Binance institutional clients can hold USYC as yield-bearing off-exchange collateral for derivatives trading through Binance Banking Triparty and Ceffu custody.
What are the risks of holding USYC? Key risks: Fed rate cuts reducing yield, Circle/Hashnote counterparty risk, jurisdictional regulatory changes, smart contract risk on BNB Chain deployment, and liquidity concentration in Binance’s ecosystem.
How do I track USYC yield and taxes? Monitor yield at RWA.xyz or CoinGecko. For tax tracking across multiple DeFi and tokenized Treasury positions, CoinLedger handles price-accrual token accounting without manual entry.
The Bottom Line
USYC is not the tokenized Treasury product for everyone. But for the institutional and semi-institutional capital that can access it, it has quietly become the most important product in the category.
$2.9 billion AUM. Larger than BlackRock’s BUIDL. 24/7 T+0 redemption. Price-accrual structure. Binance institutional collateral integration. All backed by Circle after their January 2025 acquisition of Hashnote.
If you’re outside the US, managing a DAO treasury, running institutional capital on Binance, or building DeFi products on BNB Chain — USYC deserves serious evaluation. If you’re US retail? BENJI is your lane. If you’re DeFi-native looking for composable T-bill yield without institutional gatekeeping? Watch for USYC-Pendle integrations and track the BNB Chain DeFi ecosystem.
PassiveYieldLab exists because I believe the gap between institutional yield infrastructure and retail understanding is closing fast — and the people who close it first benefit most.
The spreadsheet is working. The surfboard is waiting.
All APY data as of May 2026, sourced from RWA.xyz, CoinGecko, and official issuer dashboards. APY fluctuates and may have changed by the time you read this. This article contains affiliate links — I earn a small commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Nothing here is financial advice.
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