Circle Acquires $1.5 Billion Real-World Asset Manager Hashnote to Bolster USDC Ecosystem

Circle Internet Group, the firm behind the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization USDC, has announced the acquisition of $1.5 billion real-world asset issuer Hasnote, the company behind the largest tokenized money market fund USYC.

This acquisition signals Circle’s ambition to bridge the gap between traditional finance and the burgeoning world of cryptocurrencies. By bringing Hashnote and its flagship product, USYC, under its umbrella, Circle gains expertise in tokenized treasury assets and creates a seamless on-ramp and off-ramp between USDC, its own popular stablecoin, and USYC.

The firm detailed in an announcement that it plans to fully integrated USYC with USDC to offer “seamless access between TMMF [tokenized money market fund] collateral and USDC, one of the world’s most popular stablecoins.” The move will allow USYC to “emerged as a preferred form of yield-bearing collateral on crypto exchanges,” as well as with custodians and prime brokers.

“The integration of USYC and Hashnote into Circle’s platform marks a major moment in the evolution of the stablecoin market,” said Jeremy Allaire, CEO and Chairman of Circle. “This is a huge unlock for a market that is increasingly being driven by institutional adoption.”

BREAKING NEWS:  3 big announcements from @circle. 

 1) We have acquired Hashnote, issuer of the world’s largest Tokenized Money Market Fund (USYC); 

2) we have entered into a strategic partnership with global trading firm DRW to drive USDC and USDY in  crypto and TradFi…

— Jeremy Allaire – jda.eth / jdallaire.sol (@jerallaire) January 21, 2025

The deal is further bolstered by a strategic partnership with DRW, a major institutional crypto trader that through its subsidiary Cumberland will expand its capabilities in USDC and USYC, providing much-needed liquidity and settlement services.

Circle’s CEO Allaire also announced that Circle is deploying native USDC on Canton, a public blockchain for private and secure financial applications used by major traditional banks and trading firms that sees over $3.6 trillion in real-world asset issuance and over $1.5 trillion in repurchase agreements per month.

Circle’s Acquisition Comes After USYC Surpassed BlakcRock’s BUIDL

Hashnote’s Short Duration Yield Fund has recently become the world’s largest tokenized fund after surpassing BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) in total assets.

The rise of USYC came after the tokenized money market fund was both adopted by leading options trading platform Deribit and by major decentralized finance protocol Usual, whose USD0 stablecoin helped demand for the fund explode.