List of major interest-bearing stablecoins

Author: Stacy Muur, Web3 researcher; Translator: Jinse Finance xiaozou

Ethena SUSDE and sUSDS together account for about 77% of the liquidity of yield-bearing stablecoins (YBS, interest-bearing stablecoins), and the cumulative actual income paid has exceeded 603 million US dollars. Will yield-bearing stablecoins become the next killer application adopted by Web2 users on a large scale?

Currently: the total market value of yield-bearing stablecoins (YBS) is 7.19 billion US dollars; the 24-hour trading volume is 56.18 million US dollars (sufficient liquidity for the vault, but still thin compared to USDT/USDC); a monopoly of the three giants has been formed, and Ethena's SUSDE and sUSDS together control about 77% of YBS liquidity; the cumulative actual income payment is 603 million US dollars (cash income paid directly to holders, excluding token incentives).

1Core features of income-generating stablecoins

YBS continues to generate passive income while anchoring the US dollar. Currently, four major income engines dominate the market:

DeltaNeutral Hedging: Capturing futures funding rates (such as SUSDE, sUSDS) while holding spot collateral.

Treasury (RWA Wrapper): Tokenized Treasury/Repo (e.g. USDY, USDO).

DeFiLending Vault: Recycle idle collateral into Aave, Morpho, or Pendle PT yield ladders (e.g. SyrupUSDC, sDOLA).

Validator Staking Wrapper: Wrap Ethereum or SOL staking income into USD-denominated assets (e.g. SFRXUSD, SLVLUSD).

The result is a 3%-15% net annualized return while maintaining USD stability, without the need for active yield farming.

2、Current market leaders

3、Macro trend insights

Basis trading gamble

Ethena's twin products (SUSDE/sUSDS) have surged from less than $500 million to more than $5.5 billion this year. This concentration makes the YBS sector extremely sensitive to perpetual contract funding rates.

RWAContinued penetration

USDY and USDO verify that short-term treasury bonds are still the simplest and most regulated source of stable income. It is expected that more fund products under the framework of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 will emerge.

L2Eco-fragmentation

Fraxtal, Mode and other Rollup chains each deploy "customized" SUSDE to attract locked volume (TVL) - although it creates liquidity islands, it accelerates the adoption process.

Yield compression risk

As US interest rates peak, the APY of treasury products may decline; the Delta neutral model relies on a continuous positive futures premium. After hedging, the yield may shrink to below 3-4%.

Smart contract attack surface expands

Complex re-pledge and hedging layers increase protocol risks (oracle failure, serial liquidation). Audit and insurance coverage have become standard for entry.

（1）Ethena sUSDe

Market Position: sUSDe is the largest yield-based stablecoin (YBS) with a market value of between US$2.66 billion and US$4.3 billion, firmly occupying a dominant position in the yield-based stablecoin market.

Operation Mechanism: As a synthetic stablecoin adopting a Delta-neutral hedging strategy, its income comes from Ethereum staking rewards (through stETH) and the perpetual contract funding rate of ETH short positions.

Yield: The latest data shows that the annualized yield is between 4.5% and 10%, depending on market conditions and integrated ecology.

Ecosystem Integration: Already launched on Telegram and TON, covering over 1 billion user groups, and recently expanded to the decentralized perpetual contract exchange Hyperliquid.

Transparency: The custody verification report in May 2025 showed that its collateralization rate reached 101.31%, ensuring full collateralization.

Risks: Highly dependent on the continuous positive perpetual funding rate. If a negative rate occurs, profitability and anchoring stability may be affected.

Recent progress: Expanded to Hyperliquid and integrated with TON, further expanding the coverage of the DeFi ecosystem.

(2) sUSDS

Market position: The second largest YBS with a market value of approximately US$2.39 billion, is a core component of the Sky ecosystem (formerly MakerDAO).

Operation mechanism: Represents USDS deposited in the Sky Savings Rate System (SSR), maintaining the US dollar anchor and obtaining returns through staking.

Liquidity: Actively traded on Curve, Aerodrome and Uniswap V3, with an average daily trading volume of approximately US$27.8 million, supported by the Sky ecosystem's US$6.2 billion liquidity layer.

Risks: There are risks of smart contract vulnerabilities and market volatility, but they are hedged through overcollateralized loans and real-world asset (RWA) investments.

Horizontal comparison: Due to its yield attribute and RWA fusion design, it is often discussed together with YBS such as USDY and USDM.

(3) Ondo USDY

Market position: An RWA-backed YBS with a market value of approximately US$580 million, mainly targeting non-US investors.

Operation mechanism: Backed by short-term US Treasury bonds and bank deposits, it supports daily minting/redemption (40-50 days of transfer delay is required for compliance).

Yield: Provides approximately 5% annualized return after deducting fees, derived from the return of US Treasury bonds.

Accessibility: Available on Ethereum, Aptos, and Stellar chains, but only available to non-US users due to regulatory restrictions.

Compliance: Registered with the SEC and meets institutional standards.

Application scenarios: Applicable to vault management, DeFi mortgages, and cross-border payments.

Recent progress: Landed on the Aptos chain to expand the use channels for non-US residents.

(4) SyrupUSDC

Market position: With a market value of approximately US$550 million, it focuses on DeFi lending through Maple Finance.

Operation mechanism: It provides fixed-rate, overcollateralized loans to institutional borrowers and automatically reinvests USDC into protocols such as Aave, Morpho, and Pendle.

Liquidity: It has been listed on Coinbase and integrated with Balancer and Uniswap to ensure sufficient market liquidity.

Risks: It faces the risk of loan defaults and potential vulnerabilities in integrated DeFi protocols such as Aave and Morpho.

Application scenarios:Introducing traditional financial returns into DeFi, attracting institutional and retail investors to participate.

(5) OpenEden USDO

Market position: Launched in February 2025, as a regulated RWA-backed YBS, with a market value of approximately US$240 million.

Operation mechanism: Fully collateralized by tokenized US Treasury bonds, maintaining a 1:1 US dollar anchor, and issued through a separate account company (SAC) in Bermuda.

Yield: Provides an annualized return of approximately 4% to 5%, linked to the performance of US Treasury bonds.

Compliance: Licensed under the Bermuda Digital Asset Business Act (DABA).

Eco-integration: Cross-chain functionality between Ethereum and Base chain is achieved using Chainlink’s CCIP.

Transparency: Credibility and accountability are ensured through real-time on-chain proof of reserves.

Recent Progress: As the first regulated YBS fully collateralized by tokenized U.S. Treasuries, it is a milestone.

(6) YPO — Snapshot of Actual Yield Payments

Core Values: YPO is an on-chain yield distribution tracker. High yields are only meaningful if they are paid in real terms. SUSDE leads with $286 million in cumulative payments, while sDAI’s $117 million demonstrates the durability of the Maker protocol.

4Why Yield Stablecoin (YBS) is the "killer application" of cash management

Idle funds become productivity: Delta neutral synthetic assets (such as SUSDE) provide 7-8% annualized returns, and Treasury packaged products (such as USDY, USDO) provide 4-5% returns, far exceeding most bank savings rates.

12-month TVL increased by 4 times: The total locked position of the industry soared from US$1.7 billion to US$7.1 billion, in sync with the Fed's rate hike cycle.

Friction cost reduction: Through high-quality entrances such as Circle, Coinbase, and Hashnote, retail investors can achieve second-level casting/redemption.

Significant differences in transparency: Collateral audit standards vary, and on-chain reserve proof standards are still being formed.

5. Transparency and risk considerations

The upcoming "Transparency Framework for Yield-Based Stablecoins" aims to establish a standardized evaluation system through the following dimensions:

Collateral transparency: asset holding details and third-party audit reports.

Redemption convenience: evaluate redemption frequency, potential slippage, lock-up period and KYC requirements.

Source of income: clarify whether the income comes from fixed-income assets, funding rate arbitrage, validator rewards or a combination of strategies.

Risk disclosure: comprehensive coverage of oracle dependence, counterparty risk, smart contract vulnerabilities and regulatory considerations.

Main risks:

Regulatory reclassification: Some jurisdictions may treat income as securities dividends.

Smart contract attacks: Reentrancy attacks, oracle failure or chain liquidation risks.

Liquidity restrictions: Some tokens have low daily trading volumes and large redemptions are difficult.

Macroeconomic shocks: The Fed's rate cuts or funding rate inversions may impact multiple income mechanisms at the same time.

Market capitalization classification overview

Large-cap (>$500 million): SUSDE, sUSDS, USDY, SyrupUSDC

Mid-cap ($100-$500 million): USDO, SDEUSD, SLVLUSD

Small-cap (<$100 million): SFRXUSD, sDOLA, Solayer SUSD, DUSD, SUSDE-Fraxtal, YTRYB

6Conclusion

Yield-based stablecoins are transforming idle digital dollars into interest-bearing assets, but the field is still in its early stages, with high market concentration and volatility sensitivity. It is recommended to diversify the yield engine, monitor the funding rate spread, and continue to require transparency.

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Please always do your own research (DYOR).