Circle Acquires Hashnote and USYC

Circle, the issuer of USDC, the second-largest stablecoin by market capitalization, has entered the real-world asset (RWA) market by acquiring Hashnote and USYC.

Hasnote is an onchain-focused fintech firm that pioneered USYC, the largest tokenized money market fund (MMF) with a market capitalization of nearly $1.3 billion. USYC makes up 34% of the entire tokenized Treasury market, valued at $3.5 billion, according to RWA.xyz.

The acquisition is a strategic move by Circle in collaboration with Cumberland’s affiliate trading firm, DRW. The partnership with DRW is intended to support the institutional adoption of USDC and USYC as the digital finance sector expands.

USYC experienced rapid growth in 2024, surging nearly 4000% from a $44 million market capitalization in January 2024 to as high as $1.6 billion by the end of the year.

Aaron Kaplan, co-CEO of Prometheum, told The Defiant, “Circle’s acquisition of Hashnote reflects intensifying competition in the stablecoin market and underscores the need for issuers and investors to diversify into yield-bearing products that still function as a payment vehicle or trade collateral.”

“Widespread adoption of tokenized MMFs - including to retail investors - will require public, secondary markets licensed to manage the trading and post-trade activities for digital asset securities. Once this happens, tokenized MMFs will have a larger influence on traditional financial markets,” Kaplan concluded.