Circle, the developer of USDC, estimates that their yield-generating savings product, a centralized financial product, is still attractive to users.

USDC, the second largest USD stablecoin by market capitalization in the cryptocurrency market, announced by its developer Circle that it will launch a yield program. Users can deposit USDC to earn a stable yield with an annual interest rate of 8.5% to 10.75%. Registration is now open for users.

USDC Fixed and Savings Products

According to the announcement from Circle on theirofficial website, the product seems to be targeted towards enterprises and institutions. It is unclear if individual applications will be approved, and evaluations will be based on the applicant's location.

Circle states that the interest earnings are generated by lending users' USDC assets to financial institutions, which will be executed through the digital asset lending platform Genesis Global Capital. Interest is accrued daily and paid out weekly, with rates varying based on fixed, savings, and lock-up periods:

• Savings: 8.5%
• 1-month fixed: 9.5%
• 3-month fixed: 9.75%
• 6-month fixed: 10.25%
• 12-month fixed: 10.75%

Circle (USDC)

USDC is a stablecoin developed by Coinbase and Circle, and it is the first stablecoin listed on Coinbase. With endorsements from the cryptocurrency market, USDC has become one of the most competitive stablecoins in recent years, aside from its biggest competitor Tether (USDT). USDC has made progress in market capitalization and adoption in DeFi.

Since the cryptocurrency market crash in March this year, stablecoins have seen significant growth in market capitalization. USDT's market cap grew from $4.6 billion to $16.9 billion, while USDC increased from $490 million to $2.8 billion. Although there is still a significant gap, the growth rate has exceeded Tether, making both stablecoins the preferred choice for users.

Are CeFi Interest Rates Still Competitive?

From the rise to the decline of liquidity mining, according to DeFi Pulse data, despite the lending protocol Compound still locking in $1.2 billion, ranking fourth, current DeFi lending platform rates are generally lower than those of centralized lending platforms and exchanges' fixed deposit products. Especially Celsius.Network and Crypto.com offer much higher rates after integrating platform tokens compared to what DeFi lending platforms can provide.

Furthermore, after launching the automated lending platform "Lending Pro", Bitfinex's USD lending rates, although variable, can maintain an annualized rate of over 30% at times, and the maximum duration has been extended from the original 30 days to 120 days. While not as impressive as the previous liquidity mining rates, it remains a highly competitive centralized lending product in the long run.