Yield: The Missing Layer in Stablecoin Adoption

Stablecoins are no longer just passive payment tools. Yield is turning them into active financial infrastructure with global implications. Whether you're a fintech builder, crypto-native developer, or a user in an emerging market, yield is the incentive layer that changes how stablecoins are used, held, and valued. In this blog, we explore why yield matters and how it’s redefining stablecoins.

Why Yield Matters for Users and Developers

In traditional finance, yield is often hidden behind gatekeepers and jargon. It’s typically the domain of institutions, with complex structures and high barriers to entry. In crypto, it’s completely different. Yield is native to the rails, embedded into the infrastructure, and available to anyone with an internet connection.

Yield benefits every stakeholder in the crypto ecosystem:

• For everyday users: Holding stablecoins becomes purposeful and changes how they think about their money. Instead of idle funds sitting in an account, users can benefit from productive assets without needing to actively manage their funds.
• For fintech apps and neobanks: Yield offers a meaningful point of differentiation. Rather than just optimizing for UX, teams can embed real economic value into their product. A savings feature becomes more than a feature, it becomes a reason to return.
• For developers: Yield is programmable infrastructure. It can be tokenized, redirected, streamed, or used to trigger other actions onchain. This opens up new composable patterns for apps that reward or retain based on user behavior.
• For users in high-inflation or underbanked regions: Stablecoins provide more than stability, they offer growth. They replace the need for unreliable institutions, giving users a dependable and borderless way to store and grow value.

But despite all this potential, yield on stablecoins is still heavily underutilized. Tapping into it could mean turning the internet into the world’s most accessible savings account. One that works for anyone, anywhere.

How Users Generate Yield on Stablecoins

Stablecoins open the door to yield across a wide range of methods. Users can select approaches based on their goals, risk profile, and the platforms they trust. Here’s a list of the main ways that yield is currently being captured on stablecoins:

• Supplying stablecoins to lending protocols like Superform or Aave
• Providing liquidity to decentralized exchanges or stable swap pools
• Participating in tokenized real-world asset (RWA) markets, such as short-term Treasuries
• Using yield-bearing stablecoins that automatically accrue value
• Opting into fintech apps that embed yield in familiar interfaces like savings accounts

Each method comes with tradeoffs, whether it be smart contract risk, liquidity considerations, or regulatory constraints. Developers and users alike should assess what fits their use case, keeping in mind that yield infrastructure is continuing to evolve. New mechanisms are being developed regularly, and innovation in this space is accelerating.

Real-World Example: Tokenized US Treasuries

One of the clearest examples of yield’s power in a tokenized world is the rise of onchain U.S. Treasuries. These products bring steady, fixed, and predictable yield to crypto rails, making them a powerful bridge between traditional finance and DeFi.

Ondo Finance pioneered this space in early 2023 with OUSG, its tokenized US Treasuries product designed to meet institutional standards. Since launch, OUSG has attracted $700 million in inflows, validating demand for stable yield onchain.

Building on that momentum, Ondo introduced USDY in August 2023, a yieldcoin designed for non-US investors. In 2025 alone, USDY’s assets under management grew over 50%, from $450 million to $685 million. With more than 15,000 holders, it is now the most widely adopted tokenized Treasury product by holder count, according to RWA.xyz.

USDY is available across 10 blockchains and is already integrated into platforms, making it easy for users to earn yield and spend from the same wallet. The mantra is simple: earn it until you spend it.