Circle, the issuer of the $48 billion USDC stablecoin, has announced its acquisition of Hashnote, a leading issuer of tokenized real-world assets. Hashnote is the creator of USYC, a tokenized money market fund with over $1.3 billion in assets. The acquisition was finalized during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Circle Acquires Hashnote to Lead Tokenization of Real-World Assets
According to a recent press statement, Circle has acquired Hashnote, the issuer of the $1.3 billion tokenized money market fund USYC. This move positions Circle at the forefront of integrating tokenized assets with its widely used stablecoin, USDC. The acquisition aligns with Circle’s strategy to connect traditional financial markets with blockchain technology.
Hashnote’s USYC token, which has grown into the largest tokenized U.S. Treasury product, will be integrated into Circle’s platform. This integration will allow USYC to serve as yield-bearing collateral across digital asset exchanges, prime brokers, and custodians.
Circle CEO, Jeremy Allaire added,
“We helped invent tokenized cash, and are now leading the way in tokenized money markets, both of which we believe will become essential to the future of the global financial system.”
Meanwhile, USDC adoption has been on the rise, with recent reports indicating that Coinbase is enabling users to borrow USDC against Bitcoin collateral. The new service allows loans of up to $100,000, leveraging the Morpho protocol on the Base blockchain.
USDC and USYC on Canton Network
Additionally, Circle will deploy USDC on the Canton Network, a blockchain designed for real-world asset transactions. Major traditional financial institutions support the network, processing over $1.5 trillion in monthly repo transactions. Circle will offer convertibility between USDC and USYC, ensuring constant liquidity and efficient transaction settlements.
This integration will enable 24/7 transfers between collateral and cash, bridging the gap between decentralized and traditional finance.
Following the acquisition, Leo Mizuhara, CEO and Founder of Hashnote, expressed enthusiasm, stating,
“Joining Circle increases our ability to rapidly scale adoption by pairing USDC, a widely-used, liquid payment and trading stablecoin, with USYC, a safe, Tokenized Money Market Fund for yield-bearing collateral.”
Partnership With Cumberland to Support Stablecoin Adoption
As part of its expansion strategy, Circle has partnered with Cumberland, a DRW-affiliated trading firm, to enhance liquidity for USDC and USYC. Cumberland will leverage its expertise to provide settlement and collateral management services for institutional-grade digital asset transactions.
The collaboration will accelerate the adoption of Circle’s stablecoins and tokenized assets in global trading platforms. USDC issuer’s acquisition of Hashnote represents a transformative step in the evolution of tokenized money markets.
By combining USDC and USYC, Circle will create a unified system where cash and yield-bearing assets are interchangeable.
Notably, recently, the stablecoin issuer CEO Jeremy Allaire expressed optimism about Donald Trump’s potential crypto-friendly policies. Allaire highlighted expectations for executive orders that could enable banks to offer crypto trading services and repeal restrictive regulations like SAB 121.
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