USYC (Hashnote US Yield Coin)

USYC (Hashnote US Yield Coin) is an on-chain token representing shares in the Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund Ltd. (SDYF), a regulated Cayman Islands mutual fund that invests primarily in reverse repurchase agreements backed by U.S. government securities. Issued by Circle International Bermuda Limited (regulated by BMA), USYC provides non-US institutional investors with tokenized exposure to short-term U.S. Treasury money market-like returns, featuring atomic T+0 subscription/redemption, on-chain price oracles, and composability as a standard ERC-20/BEP-20/SPL-22 token across Ethereum, BNB Smart Chain, Solana, NEAR, Base, and Canton.

USYC's yield comes from the fund it represents — the Short Duration Yield Fund (SDYF). This fund mostly puts investor money into reverse repurchase agreements (a type of short-term loan) backed by U.S. government securities. A smaller portion goes into U.S. Treasury Bills to keep the fund highly liquid and exposed to almost no interest-rate risk. The goal is to earn roughly the overnight federal funds rate (the short-term "risk-free" rate), with a risk profile similar to a money market fund — meaning very little market risk, duration risk, or credit risk, since the underlying collateral is backed by the U.S. government.

Yield reaches token holders through the fund's net asset value (NAV), which is published on-chain via an oracle (a price feed). But the gross yield gets reduced by a few fees:

• A 10% performance fee on the yield the fund generates
• A 0.04% subscription fee on new money put into the fund
• A 0.03% redemption fee on money taken out
• Additional service and management fees disclosed in the fund's offering documents

Subscriptions and redemptions happen in USDC. You can buy in or cash out atomically on-chain (T+0) — meaning the transaction settles instantly, no waiting days. Instant redemptions are available up to certain size limits, and same-day redemption works 24/7/365 for any amount. No off-chain steps or extra intermediaries are needed.

Hashnote (the issuer of USYC) was incubated by Cumberland Labs, the blockchain incubator founded by Cumberland (the dedicated cryptoasset arm of DRW, a major global trading firm). The Hashnote website prominently lists DRW and Cumberland as backers, noting that the firm was "built with the support of" both. Hashnote founder and CEO Leo Mizuhara previously spent five years running Fixed Income Currencies and Commodities Systematic Options Trading at DRW before launching Hashnote with DRW's support. No specific venture capital funding rounds, round amounts, or dates for Hashnote as a standalone entity were disclosed on official sources. On January 21, 2025, Circle Internet Group (the issuer of USDC) announced its acquisition of Hashnote and USYC; this acquisition was accompanied by a strategic partnership between Circle and DRW (via Cumberland) to support USDC and USYC adoption and liquidity.