Do stablecoins pay interest?
No — USDT, USDC and most major fiat-backed stablecoins pay 0% interest to holders by design; the issuer keeps the reserve yield. A separate category of yield-bearing dollar tokens, like tokenized Treasury funds and some newer 'yieldcoins', does pass through interest, typically close to the prevailing T-bill rate.
Why the standard tokens pay nothing
USDT and USDC are built to be payment instruments, not investment products, partly by regulatory necessity: paying interest directly on a widely distributed token would likely trigger securities or banking regulation in most major jurisdictions. Issuers avoid that classification by keeping the yield themselves and marketing the token purely as a stable, redeemable dollar substitute.
The tokens that do pay yield
A distinct category exists specifically to pass through yield: tokenized Treasury funds like BlackRock's BUIDL or Franklin Templeton's BENJI accrue or distribute close to the T-bill rate, structured as fund shares rather than payment tokens. Sky's USDS offers an optional native savings rate for holders who opt in. Ethena's USDe pays a funding-rate-derived yield through staked sUSDe, which is materially higher-variance than a Treasury-based yield and can turn negative.
- USDT, USDC, USD1: 0% to holders by design; issuer keeps reserve yield
- Tokenized Treasury funds (BUIDL, BENJI): pass through near the T-bill rate, restricted access
- USDS savings rate: optional native yield for Sky's stablecoin, variable
- USDe/sUSDe: funding-rate-derived yield, higher and more volatile
How to get yield on USDT or USDC anyway
Holders wanting yield on the standard tokens have to deploy them into a separate product — a lending market like Aave, a centralised exchange's earn product, or a tokenized fund via conversion. Each of those introduces its own distinct risk layer on top of holding the stablecoin itself, so the '0% base rate' isn't really optional to avoid — it's the honest starting point before any yield product is added.
Frequently asked
- Why doesn't USDC pay interest directly?
- Paying interest on a broadly distributed token would likely require securities or banking licensing that Circle has structured to avoid at the token level.
- What's the closest thing to a stablecoin savings account?
- Depositing USDC or USDT into a lending market, or holding a tokenized Treasury fund, both of which pass through yield that the base tokens don't.
- Does holding USDT for a year earn anything?
- No — the token itself pays 0%. Any return would have to come from a separate product built on top of it.
- Is USDe the same kind of yield as a Treasury fund?
- No — USDe's yield comes from perpetual futures funding rates, which is more volatile and can go negative, unlike the relatively steady T-bill rate behind tokenized Treasury funds.