Where does stablecoin treasury yield come from?
A stablecoin treasury is the pool of stablecoins an organization keeps to pay for its operations and to hold in reserve. The holders fall into a few groups: DAO treasuries that fund contributors and grants, protocols that keep reserves for their own operations, fintech teams that run Earn programs for their customers, and companies that settle payments in stablecoins. Many of them act as onchain allocators, moving capital between yield sources with onchain transactions under limits that their governance or management sets.
Stablecoins held in a wallet earn nothing. The yield a treasury can earn on them comes from four main places, and each place pays for a different risk.
Onchain lending pays interest from borrowers. A treasury supplies stablecoins to a lending market, and borrowers who post crypto collateral pay interest that rises and falls with demand to borrow. In a passive lending market the depositor takes the market's terms as they come. A curated vault spreads deposits across several lending markets that a vault curator picks and limits, and charges a fee for that work.
Tokenized Treasury funds hold short-term US government debt, such as Treasury bills, and pass the interest on that debt through to token holders after fees. Their yield follows short-term US interest rates. Buying in usually means subscribing to the fund, often with stablecoins, after passing its identity checks.
Private credit vaults earn interest on offchain loans to businesses, such as invoice financing, royalty advances or equipment leases. A fund makes or buys the loans, and the vault token gives holders a claim on the fund's returns. Because the borrowers sit outside crypto markets, this income is often called non-crypto-correlated yield: it does not rise and fall with crypto prices. The cost is slower access to capital, since withdrawals wait for loans to repay or for a scheduled redemption window.
Reward programs pay on top of a base yield. A protocol or an issuer adds tokens or stablecoins for a set period to attract deposits. The reward ends on a date, or when its budget runs out, and the base yield is what remains.
How do the main yield sources compare?
| Source | What pays the yield | How quickly capital can leave | Moves with crypto prices? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onchain lending, through curated vaults and lending markets | Interest from borrowers who post crypto collateral, after any curator fee | Usually at once, while the markets hold cash that is not lent out | Yes, through the collateral |
| Tokenized Treasury fund | Interest on short-term US government debt, after fund fees | Through the fund's redemption process, on the fund's own schedule | Rarely |
| Private credit vault | Interest on offchain loans to businesses | At scheduled redemption windows, or as loans repay | Usually not |
| Reward program | A budget a protocol or an issuer sets aside to attract deposits | The reward stops on its end date or when the budget runs out | Depends on the token paid |
The table compares how each source works. The Key facts box at the top of this page gives the current figures: the stablecoins in circulation, the benchmark rate and the tokenized Treasury market, each with its date and source.
Two columns decide most choices. The liquidity column says how much of the treasury's cash a source can hold before the treasury loses the ability to pay its bills. The crypto prices column says whether the source adds to the risk the treasury already carries, since a treasury that holds its own token or other crypto assets is already exposed to a fall in crypto prices.
For the full comparison, with the main risks of each source, who can hold it and worked examples from the O2O Vault Brief, see stablecoin yield sources compared.
How does a treasury benchmark yield against SOFR?
SOFR, the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, is the rate for borrowing cash overnight against US Treasury securities. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York publishes it each business day, and treasuries use it as the reference for what dollars earn with very little credit risk.
Data table
| example_vault | date | vault_base_apy_pct | sofr_pct | spread_pp | vault_series |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-01 | 3.71 | 3.66 | +0.05 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-02 | 3.56 | 3.65 | -0.09 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-03 | 3.71 | 3.66 | +0.05 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-04 | 3.74 | 3.65 | +0.09 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-05 | 3.73 | 3.65 | +0.08 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-06 | 3.75 | 3.65 | +0.10 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-07 | 3.84 | 3.65 | +0.19 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-08 | 3.77 | 3.64 | +0.13 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-09 | 3.89 | 3.64 | +0.25 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-10 | 3.86 | 3.62 | +0.24 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-11 | 3.79 | 3.62 | +0.17 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-12 | 3.78 | 3.62 | +0.16 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-13 | 3.68 | 3.62 | +0.06 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-14 | 3.66 | 3.62 | +0.04 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-15 | 3.68 | 3.64 | +0.04 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-16 | 3.66 | 3.62 | +0.04 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-17 | 3.79 | 3.85 | -0.06 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-18 | 3.99 | 3.85 | +0.14 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-19 | 3.82 | 3.85 | -0.03 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-20 | 3.68 | 3.85 | -0.17 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-21 | 3.65 | 3.85 | -0.20 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDG example vault, Robinhood Chain | 2026-09-22 | 4.06 | 3.87 | +0.19 | 1-day lending yield after fees, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-17 | 3.99 | 3.85 | +0.14 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-18 | 3.99 | 3.85 | +0.14 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-19 | 3.99 | 3.85 | +0.14 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-20 | 3.99 | 3.85 | +0.14 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-21 | 4.01 | 3.85 | +0.16 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-22 | 4.03 | 3.87 | +0.16 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-23 | 4.06 | 3.87 | +0.19 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-25 | 4.05 | 3.90 | +0.15 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-26 | 4.06 | 3.90 | +0.16 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-27 | 4.08 | 3.90 | +0.18 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-28 | 4.09 | 3.90 | +0.19 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-29 | 4.11 | 3.88 | +0.23 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-09-30 | 4.11 | 3.90 | +0.21 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-01 | 4.12 | 3.87 | +0.25 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-02 | 4.14 | 3.88 | +0.26 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-03 | 4.13 | 3.88 | +0.25 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-04 | 4.12 | 3.88 | +0.24 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-05 | 4.10 | 3.89 | +0.21 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-06 | 4.07 | 3.90 | +0.17 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-07 | 4.05 | 3.88 | +0.17 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
| USDC example vault, Base | 2026-10-08 | 4.05 | 3.88 | +0.17 | 7-day lending yield after the 10% performance fee, reward excluded |
A treasury benchmarks a yield source by setting its base yield after fees beside SOFR for the same date. The difference is the spread, and the spread is the pay for every risk the source adds: smart contract and oracle risk in onchain lending, the fund and its operations in a tokenized Treasury fund, borrower credit and slower exits in private credit. A tokenized Treasury fund holds the same kind of short-term government debt that the overnight market lends against, so its yield tends to follow short-term rates closely. A source that pays well above SOFR is paying for something, and the treasury's job is to name what.
Leave rewards out of the comparison. A reward makes a narrow spread look wide until its end date, and on that date the spread returns to what the base yield pays.
The Key facts box shows the latest SOFR and the tokenized Treasury yield, each with its date and source (latest figure and source). Dated worked examples of the spread on two curated vaults are in stablecoin yield sources compared.
How does a treasury choose by liquidity, time horizon and eligibility?
Most treasuries start from when the money will be needed, and split their holdings into buckets:
- Operating cash for the coming weeks stays where it can leave at once: stablecoins held directly, or lending markets that keep plenty of cash unlent.
- A reserve for the coming months can sit in sources whose redemptions follow a stated process, such as tokenized Treasury funds, or curated vaults with a record of meeting withdrawals.
- Longer-term capital that the treasury does not expect to touch for a year or more can accept scheduled redemption windows, such as those of private credit vaults, in exchange for returns that do not move with crypto prices.
Time horizon sets the cost of a slow exit. A treasury that may need its money next week pays heavily for a redemption window that opens next quarter. A treasury with years of runway may never notice it.
Eligibility narrows the list before yield is compared. Tokenized Treasury funds and private credit vaults commonly admit only holders who pass identity checks and sit on an allowlist, and some admit only certain kinds of investor. A DAO, a fintech and a company each face different checks, and some sources are closed to some of them. A treasury confirms that it can hold a token before it compares the token's yield.
The buckets, the limits a treasury sets on each and the reports that show where the money sits are the subject of how a DAO treasury can earn yield on stablecoins.
What risks come with stablecoin yield?
Every yield source carries risks that its headline rate does not show. The main ones:
- Credit risk: a borrower does not repay. In onchain lending the collateral is meant to cover the loss; in private credit the originator's underwriting and the legal claim on the loans are.
- Liquidity mismatch: a vault offers faster withdrawals than its assets allow, so depositors who ask late may wait.
- Smart contract risk: a bug in the code that holds the deposits can lose them.
- Oracle risk: a price feed that misprices collateral can trigger wrong liquidations or let bad loans through.
- Stablecoin risk: the stablecoin itself can lose its peg, and its issuer may be able to freeze it.
- Reward expiry: a reward program ends, and the headline rate falls to the base yield.
Two O2O Research reports show these risks in the market. The August 2026 market structure report looks at curated vaults: who runs them, where the money sits and what it earns. The October 2026 RWA vaults report looks at the allocators on the demand side and the real-world asset vaults they use.
For a checklist that tests one vault against each of these risks, see how to evaluate a yield vault.