Stablecoin yields

Stablecoin yield questions

What is a good stablecoin yield right now?

Anything close to the tokenized Treasury bill rate is the honest baseline for dollar risk. Rates a few points above it are usually lending spreads or funding-rate income. Once a stablecoin pool pays well into double digits, you are being paid for smart-contract, incentive-token or counterparty risk, not for holding dollars.

How is the yield rating on usd.net calculated?

Every pool gets a 0-100 quality score from five factors: pool depth, the share of APY that is organic base yield rather than token incentives, how far the live rate sits from its own 30-day mean, exposure structure (single-sided and no impermanent loss scores best) and rate plausibility. It rates durability, not size — a 4% rated A is usually better money than a 30% rated E.

What is risk-adjusted APY?

The headline APY discounted by the pool's quality rating. It lets you sort a list where a deep, base-yield-driven pool outranks a shallow, emissions-funded pool that quotes a bigger number.

Why does the APY I see differ from the protocol's own site?

Rates move continuously and most front ends quote different windows — spot APY, 7-day mean or 30-day mean. We show the live rate plus the 30-day drift so you can see whether today's number is representative or a spike.

Are stablecoin yields taxed?

In most jurisdictions lending and staking income on stablecoins is ordinary income at receipt, and any peg movement can create a separate capital gain or loss. Treatment varies by country, so treat this as a starting point rather than advice.

Is a higher APY on a smaller chain worth bridging for?

Only if the spread survives the round trip. Add bridge fees, gas both ways, slippage in and out, and the days your capital is in flight. A 200 bps pickup on $10,000 is roughly $200 a year — often less than the friction plus the added bridge risk.

What does base APY versus reward APY mean?

Base APY is paid by real borrowers, traders or T-bill coupons. Reward APY is protocol token emissions, which end on a schedule and are worth whatever the token is worth when you sell. Pools with a high base share hold their rate far better.

Can I lose money earning yield on a stablecoin?

Yes. The main routes are a depeg of the underlying stablecoin, a smart-contract exploit, bad debt in a lending market, negative funding on a delta-neutral strategy, and incentive tokens collapsing before you sell them.