Stablecoin vault vs own stablecoin vs tokenized T-bills

Three ways a fintech, payroll or payments team can earn on idle USDC, compared on yield, users, minimums and redemption hours. For most teams the stablecoin vault comes out ahead.

3.62% a year was the average 7-day yield on tokenized Treasury funds on 6 October 2026, according to rwa.xyz. Any team holding idle stablecoins can reach roughly that rate in three ways. It can hold the float in a stablecoin vault such as Upshift, launch its own stablecoin through an issuer like Paxos, Bridge or Brale and keep the reserve income, or buy a tokenized T-bill fund such as BlackRock's BUIDL, Circle's USYC, Ondo's OUSG or Franklin Templeton's BENJI directly.

For most fintech, payroll, payments and treasury teams the stablecoin vault comes out ahead. It lets the platform share the yield with its users as vault shares, which a US stablecoin issuer can't do under the GENIUS Act. It starts with 24/7 tokenized money market funds and can add Core or Enhanced strategies on the same integration. Issuing fits a large float that mostly stays inside the platform. A direct fund holding fits a company putting its own treasury into large tickets.

Stablecoin vault, own stablecoin and tokenized treasuries side by side

Figures as of 6 October 2026. Vault bands are indicative rates from Upshift's yield options page, with no return guaranteed. The reserve rate is Fintech Blueprint's figure for DLUSD in June 2026. Fund terms come from Circle's USYC page, Ondo's OUSG page and rwa.xyz's BUIDL page.

A stablecoin vault lets you share the yield and earn more than reserves

Section 4(a)(11) of the GENIUS Act, signed on 18 July 2025, says no permitted or foreign payment stablecoin issuer "shall pay the holder of any payment stablecoin any form of interest or yield" solely for holding, using or retaining the coin. A vault share is a different product. It's a claim on the assets the vault holds, such as tokenized fund shares or loans, and its return comes from those assets. The user balances sit in one vault, and the platform picks who earns on them. It can hold every share and keep the yield, give each user the shares for their own balance, or pass the yield through minus a fee it sets. It can change that split later without a new integration. Whether an Earn product needs a licence or disclosure in a given country is a question for the platform's own counsel (general information, not legal advice). Why a stablecoin vault beats issuing a stablecoin tells this through Deel's DLUSD.

A Conservative vault holds 24/7 tokenized money market funds with a USDC buffer and earns close to the T-bill rate. The part of the float that rarely moves can sit in a Core vault (indicative 5-7%) or an Enhanced vault (8%+), using the same SDK calls and a different vault address. Higher bands carry lending and strategy risk that a T-bill fund doesn't, and no band's return is guaranteed.

Through a vault, the fund's own rules still apply. Rule 2a51-3 looks through a company formed to buy a 3(c)(7) fund to its owners, and US depositors in a vault holding those funds need to be qualified purchasers (general information, not legal advice). What the vault adds is a USDC buffer that pays any size at any hour below the fund minimums, per-depositor share accounting the platform doesn't have to build, and one issuer approval for the funds it holds. How fintechs pay a 24/7 T-bill rate covers the Earn build.

Your own stablecoin keeps the reserve income for the brand

Most brands issue through a licensed partner. Paxos, Bridge, Brale, Agora and Anchorage Digital each mint a dollar coin under another company's name, hold or arrange the reserves and pass back part of the reserve income. None of them publishes the split. Deel's DLUSD, launched in Argentina on 3 June 2026, is issued through Bridge's Open Issuance platform, according to Stripe's announcement. Bridge holds a preliminary conditional OCC approval for Bridge National Trust Bank, granted on 12 February 2026, and doesn't yet hold a full charter. Bridge says a token can go live in "a few days" on Open Issuance, and the commercial terms, KYB and reserve setup follow.

The GENIUS Act fixes what the reserves can hold. Section 4(a)(1)(A) lists cash, demand deposits, Treasuries with 93 days or less to maturity, Treasury repo and registered government money market funds, all of which earn close to the short-term Treasury rate. The brand can't move reserves into anything higher, and the income falls when the Fed cuts. Where stablecoin issuers keep their reserves shows how the large issuers fill that list.

No law sets a minimum supply for a branded coin, though the running costs set an economic one. A coin that stays inside the platform needs no market makers, because holders leave by 1:1 redemption through the issuer. Paid liquidity comes in only when the coin has to trade in DeFi or on exchanges. Legal review, KYB, ledger work and the issuer relationship cost about the same at $20 million as at $500 million. At 3.6%, $50 million of float earns about $1.8 million a year before the issuer's share, and a float paid out weekly gives that income little time to build. Issuing pays off where most of the money stays inside the platform, as with PayPal's PYUSD, which had more than $4 billion in circulation in 70+ markets according to Paxos (6 October 2026). Even then, holders earn nothing from the coin itself. An issuer can run that Earn layer through a stablecoin vault.

Issuing on your own in the US means becoming a permitted payment stablecoin issuer. The OCC's proposed GENIUS rule came out on 2 March 2026, and Comptroller Jonathan Gould said the OCC wants a final rule out by November so it can start processing applications in the new year (PYMNTS); a 7 October search found no final rule yet. Stablecoin issuance platforms compared and how to create a stablecoin cover the issuing route in detail.

Tokenized T-bill funds pay the holder the fund rate, within each fund's rules

Holding a fund directly pays the fund rate with no layer in between. BUIDL takes US qualified purchasers from 5,000,000 USDC and redeems daily from 250,000 USDC. USYC takes non-US investors from 100,000 USDC. OUSG takes qualified purchasers in the countries Ondo lists and mints and redeems USDC 24/7 from $5,000, weekends included. BENJI takes US investors from $20 and processes redemptions on business days. Several funds already exit around the clock in USDC, through Circle's contract for BUIDL, USYC's instant route and OUSG, and the vault uses the same routes to refill its buffer. Fund fees run from 0.15% to 0.50% a year, with USYC taking 10% of the yield.

A company holding fund shares for customers keeps its own USDC float for small withdrawals, records each customer's balance and daily income, and passes each issuer's KYC and wallet allowlisting. Every customer still has to meet the fund's investor test. For a company investing its own cash in large tickets, none of that applies, and a direct holding is the simpler route. BUIDL vs USYC vs BENJI compares the funds, and holding tokenized treasuries through a stablecoin vault sets out the direct-vs-vault costs on a $10 million book.

$20 million of payments float on each route

An illustration, using the rates above and no other assumptions. Issued as a branded coin at 3.6%, $20 million earns about $720,000 a year in reserve income, minus the issuer's unpublished share, and users earn nothing unless the platform adds a second product. Held directly in a fund at 3.62%, with $2 million kept in USDC for withdrawals, $18 million earns about $651,600, or 3.26% on the whole float, before the fund fee and the cost of running the ledger. In a stablecoin vault, $14 million in a Conservative vault at 3-4% earns $420,000 to $560,000, and $6 million of core balance in a Core vault at 5-7% earns $300,000 to $420,000. That's about $720,000 to $980,000 before vault fees, from a position the platform can share with its users. The vault figures use indicative bands, which move with markets and aren't guaranteed.

How to choose between the three

• Stablecoin vault: you want users to earn, the float turns over, or you want room above the T-bill rate on one integration. This covers most fintech, payroll and payments teams.
• Your own stablecoin: a large float that mostly stays inside your platform, where you want the reserve income and control of chains and listings.
• A tokenized T-bill fund, held directly: your own treasury, tickets above the fund minimum, and an entity that meets the fund's investor test.
• Two at once: a fund for corporate cash and a vault for customer balances, or a branded coin with a stablecoin vault as its Earn layer.

Upshift is onchain yield infrastructure for fintechs and asset managers with stablecoin balances. Partners integrate through the SDK (npm package @augustdigital/sdk), the API or the Upshift app and set the fee and who can deposit. A vault can be open to anyone, limited to allow-listed wallets or reserved for one depositor. A curator, typically a hedge fund or asset manager, runs each vault inside limits set in the contract, and every Upshift vault processes redemptions daily, with its own lag. The contracts have had 11 smart contract audits by 6 independent firms, and Upshift has reached $550M+ in peak deposits across 50+ vaults on 30+ chains, for 66,000+ users. Tria went live on Upshift vaults two weeks after starting its integration, according to the Tria case study. Stablecoin yield for payment platforms covers settlement and card float.

Risks on every route

• Stablecoin vault: smart contract, oracle and liquidity risk on top of the fund's own, and strategy risk in Core and Enhanced vaults. A large outflow can outrun the buffer and wait for the daily queue.
• Own stablecoin: issuer concentration, a peg that carries your brand, and the cost of liquidity if the coin trades outside your app.
• Direct fund holding: issuer terms that can change, business-day redemption windows and allowlisted wallets only.
• All three: lower income when the Fed cuts, and no deposit insurance.
• Rules still moving: the OCC's final GENIUS rule isn't out, and MiCA applies to coins offered in the EU.

Always make sure to do your own research and be aware of the above and any other risks before depositing.

Frequently asked questions

Should we launch our own stablecoin or use a stablecoin vault?

Most fintech, payroll and payments teams do better with a stablecoin vault. It lets the platform share yield with users, which a US stablecoin issuer can't pay holders, and it can earn above T-bill reserves through Core or Enhanced vaults. Your own coin fits a large float that mostly stays inside the platform, as with PayPal's PYUSD.

Why hold tokenized treasuries through a stablecoin vault and not directly?

To serve customer balances. The vault meets the fund minimum once, pays small withdrawals from a USDC buffer at any hour and keeps each depositor's share. Eligibility doesn't change: US depositors in a vault holding BUIDL or OUSG still need to be qualified purchasers (general information, not legal advice). For your own treasury in large tickets, direct holding is simpler.

Can a stablecoin issuer pay yield to holders?

Not under US law. GENIUS Act section 4(a)(11) bars permitted and foreign payment stablecoin issuers from paying holders any interest or yield for holding the coin, and the OCC's proposed rule would presume a breach when payment runs through an affiliate. The Act takes effect on 18 January 2027 or 120 days after final rules, whichever comes first.

Can we build a branded stablecoin?

Yes, through a licensed issuer that mints the coin under your name, such as Paxos, Bridge, Brale, Agora or Anchorage Digital. Deel's DLUSD is issued through Bridge. Issuing on your own in the US means becoming a permitted payment stablecoin issuer, and the OCC aims to start processing applications in 2027.

Which earns more: a stablecoin vault or tokenized treasuries?

A Conservative stablecoin vault holding tokenized money market funds earns close to the fund rate, minus vault fees and the buffer. Core and Enhanced vaults have indicative bands of 5-7% and 8%+ (Upshift, 6 October 2026), with lending and strategy risk a T-bill fund doesn't carry. No rate is guaranteed.

Do tokenized treasury funds redeem 24/7?

Several do, in USDC: Circle's contract buys BUIDL shares at any hour, USYC redeems instantly up to Circle's capacity and OUSG mints and redeems 24/7 from $5,000. BENJI processes redemptions on business days. Stablecoin redemption times compares payout speed across 10 yield options.

Keep reading

• How the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts reshape stablecoin yield. The US rules on who can pay yield.
• Stablecoin payroll. Earning on the float between funding and payout.
• How companies earn yield on idle treasury cash. Options for corporate cash.
• Where stablecoin issuers keep their reserves. The assets behind USDC, USDT and PYUSD.