KoinlyticsA regular stablecoin ties $1 to $1. It does not pay you. RWA-backed stables tie $1 to $1 of T-bill exposure, so they earn T-bill yield (~5%) that flows to holders. This is the new stablecoin frontier.
USDY (Ondo)
Backed by short-term US Treasuries. Yield accrues in the token's price (a $1.00 USDY becomes $1.05 over a year). Requires KYC to hold.
USDM (Mountain Protocol)
Similar model. Backed by Treasuries via a Bermuda-regulated issuer. Available to non-US users. Yield via rebase (your balance grows).
USDZ (Anzen)
Backed by private-credit-heavy portfolio. Higher yield, higher risk.
Difference from BUIDL / OUSG
BUIDL (BlackRock) and OUSG (Ondo's institutional token) are tokenized T-bill funds — regulated fund shares, not stablecoins. USDY / USDM look and act more like stablecoins with yield baked in.
Yield mechanics
- Price-appreciating (USDY). Token price goes up over time. Your USDY balance is constant but each USDY is worth more.
- Rebasing (USDM). Token price is constant. Your balance grows automatically.
Trade-offs vs USDC
- Pro: earns yield without doing anything.
- Con: KYC required for issuance (secondary buys sometimes not).
- Con: lower DeFi liquidity than USDC.
- Con: counterparty risk on issuer + underlying fund.
Where this ends up
Every stablecoin with meaningful reserves is a candidate to become yield-bearing. USDC is not (Circle keeps the yield). USDe already does via sUSDe. USDY / USDM are the direct answer. Expect this category to compress USDC's dominance for holders who can accept KYC.