Hashnote US Yield Coin
USYCHashnote US Yield Coin (USYC) is a tokenized short-duration US Treasury product, now part of Circle, representing shares in a Cayman-domiciled fund holding T-bills and reverse repo. It offers daily yield accrual to permissioned institutional investors and has grown into one of the largest tokenized treasuries by assets. USYC scores 81/100 (Tier 2) on the RWTS Trust Score, strong on backing and verification, with Circle ownership adding distribution and credibility. The main constraints are permissioned access and reliance on the fund's redemption mechanics rather than open-market liquidity.
- Issuer / protocol
- Circle / Hashnote
- Jurisdiction
- Cayman IslandsCIMA mutual fund — qualified investors
- Backing
- Short-duration U.S. Treasury bills
- Redemption / lock-up
- Permissioned (institutional only)
- Audit & proof of reserves
- Independently audited
- Availability
- Global
- Chain
- Multi-chain
- Tier
- Tier 2 — Treasury & Fiat-Backed
Scored on the published RWTS methodology (v1.1), reviewed quarterly and on material events. Ratings are independent and never pay-influenced.
Addresses verified against each chain's explorer. Native = canonical or natively issued; bridged = wrapped or messaged across.
Calculations are indicative. Actual yields may vary.
Price data from CoinGecko. Not financial advice.
Current yield of 3.64% sits at 128% of the observed range. This is above the midpoint, indicating relatively attractive rates.
Projections assume constant APY of 3.64%. Actual returns may vary. Not financial advice.
Treasury-repo-backed; daily NAV; institutional access only for direct mint.
Methodology v1.0 · independent rating · published rubric · no issuer payments
Backed by short-duration U.S. Treasury bills; sovereign debt instruments.
Inherits Circle's Big Four (Deloitte) monthly attestation cadence; institutional-grade reserve verification.
Daily redemption to USDC at par for permissioned institutional holders. Right 6/8, route 3/7: one route, enforced by contract or regulation rather than goodwill.
Circle financial audit (Big Four); multiple SC audits inherited from USDC infrastructure; bug bounty program established for Circle products.
Circle is fully regulated; US state money transmitter licenses; NYDFS-recognized; Hashnote subsidiary registered investment advisor; clear US jurisdiction.
Originally launched 2023 by Hashnote, acquired by Circle Q1 2025; ~3 years from launch, no material incidents.
REDEMPTION_INSTITUTIONAL_ONLYUSYC is permissioned; access restricted to qualified institutional investors.
Caveats document operational realities that don't change the dimensional score but shape practical use.
Beyond USYC's own score, two structural questions matter: what is it built on, and what has broken before in this part of the market. A high score in isolation can still carry hidden, shared exposure.
What this and similar assets are built on, and where contagion could spread.
The depegs, defaults, and exploits that inform the Track Record dimension.
Liquidity read: TVL of $2.40B indicates deep on-chain liquidity. Lock-up: Permissioned (institutional only).
Is USYC safe?
USYC (Hashnote US Yield Coin) scores 81/100 on the independent RWTS Trust Score, which places it in Treasury & Fiat-Backed (Tier 2). Tier 2 is strong: institutional or fiat backing with solid verification, a notch below fully-reserved physical assets. Backing: Short-duration U.S. Treasury bills. It is independently audited. The score reflects backing, verification, redeemability, audit, regulatory standing, and track record, not headline yield. We rate. You decide.
Exit routes
9/15 · right 6/8 · routes 3/7If the issuer stopped cooperating tomorrow, could you get out?
One route, and it does not depend on the issuer
- independent
Circle / Hashnote
Redemption to USDC for qualified investors.
- issuer
Deribit Spot
The only venue carrying any volume turned over $113 in 24 hours and no standing liquidity could be verified, so it does not clear the capacity floor and is not counted as a route.
Route 3. A listing that turns over $113 a day is not an exit, and the capacity floor exists precisely so that it is not scored as one.
This is the redeemability component of the Trust Score above, which stands at 81/100 (A-). Until 1 September 2026 redeemability was a single figure measuring the right to redeem while ignoring how many routes existed to exercise it. Splitting it moved this asset’s score. How the score works
Assessed 2026-09-01. Route independence asks how many ways out the issuer cannot close, not how much the asset trades.
Compare USYC
Head to head on the Trust Score with similar assets.