Stablecoin Yield

USD Coin (USDC) is Circle's fully reserved US dollar stablecoin, redeemable one-to-one and backed by cash and short-dated US Treasuries held in the BlackRock-managed Circle Reserve Fund, custodied at BNY. Under the GENIUS Act a payment stablecoin pays no yield to holders, so USDC earns nothing on its own; yield comes only from a wrapper such as Coinbase USDC Rewards, Aave lending, or a DEX position. USDC scores 86/100 (Tier 2) on the RWTS Trust Score, the most regulated major stablecoin, NYDFS-supervised and MiCA-authorised, dinged only by the 2023 SVB depeg.

Usual USD0 is a stablecoin from Usual backed one-to-one by a basket of real-world assets, primarily short-term US Treasuries and tokenized treasury funds held in bankruptcy-remote structures. The base token is redeemable and non-yielding, while a locked variant, USD0++, earns a boosted yield in exchange for a fixed term. USD0 scores 74/100 (Tier 2) on the RWTS Trust Score: a transparent RWA reserve and clear redemption, set against a relatively short operating history and the complexity that the yield-bearing version introduces through its lock-up and token economics.

Savings DAI (sDAI) is the yield-bearing version of Sky's DAI stablecoin, earning the Sky Savings Rate set by protocol governance. Deposited DAI accrues interest funded by Sky's collateral, which spans crypto and tokenized US Treasuries via real-world-asset positions, and sDAI can be redeemed for DAI instantly at any time. sDAI scores 71/100 (Tier 3) on the RWTS Trust Score: it is the most battle-tested decentralised savings token, with deep liquidity and instant exit, but carries smart-contract and governance risk and a yield that moves with Sky policy rather than a contractual rate.

Sky Dollar (USDS) is the upgraded successor to DAI from Sky, the rebranded MakerDAO, pegged to the US dollar and backed by a multi-collateral mix of crypto, staked ETH and tokenized US Treasuries via real-world-asset positions. It is the base token of the Sky savings stack and can be staked into sUSDS for the Sky Savings Rate. USDS scores 71/100 (Tier 3) on the RWTS Trust Score: a deep, well-collateralised system, balanced against smart-contract and governance risk and a freeze function the protocol can invoke on individual balances.

Staked Sky USDS (sUSDS) is the yield-bearing version of Sky's USDS stablecoin, earning the Sky Savings Rate funded by the protocol's multi-collateral backing of crypto, staked ETH and tokenized US Treasuries. Holders stake USDS into sUSDS and can unstake at any time. sUSDS scores 71/100 (Tier 3) on the RWTS Trust Score: it is the savings token of one of DeFi's largest, most established stablecoin systems, with instant liquidity, set against smart-contract and governance risk and a yield that Sky governance can change. It is the successor to sDAI within the rebranded Sky ecosystem.

Savings GHO (sGHO) is the yield-bearing version of GHO, Aave's decentralized overcollateralized stablecoin. Yield comes from GHO borrowing fees plus governance-approved Merit rewards, with a base rate around 5.6%, and the new consumer Aave App surfaces it as "up to 9%". There is instant liquidity and no lockup. sGHO scores 66/100 (Tier 3) on the RWTS Trust Score: the backing is crypto collateral rather than fiat or Treasuries, it is fully transparent on-chain, but it is young (Aave V4 and sGHO both launched in 2026), the yield is partly reward-subsidised, and there is no regulatory wrapper.

Tether USD (USDT) is the largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, issued by Tether and pegged one-to-one to the US dollar. Reserves are majority short-dated US Treasuries and repo disclosed in quarterly attestations, alongside a tail of higher-risk holdings (secured loans, Bitcoin and metals) and no full financial audit to date. Like any stablecoin it pays no native yield; returns come only from a wrapper such as an exchange earn programme or lending. USDT scores 61/100 (Tier 2) on the RWTS Trust Score: unmatched scale and liquidity, weaker transparency and not MiCA-authorised.

Staked USDe (sUSDe) is the yield-bearing version of Ethena's synthetic dollar, USDe. Rather than holding cash or Treasuries, its peg is maintained by a delta-neutral position: spot ETH and BTC collateral hedged with short perpetual futures, with staking and funding rates passed to holders. sUSDe scores 57/100 (Tier 4) on the RWTS Trust Score, our lowest stablecoin tier, because the backing is a market position rather than a hard claim. Yield has compressed from launch highs to single digits, and unstaking carries a seven-day cooldown.

Staked FRAX (sFRAX) is the savings token of Frax Finance, letting holders of the FRAX stablecoin earn a yield benchmarked loosely to the US policy rate and funded by Frax protocol revenue and treasury assets. It can be redeemed for FRAX at any time with no lock-up. sFRAX scores 50/100 (Tier 4) on the RWTS Trust Score, our lowest stablecoin band, because FRAX's hybrid collateralised-and-algorithmic design and the protocol's reliance on its own revenue carry more structural risk than a fully reserved dollar. The yield is modest and varies with Frax policy.