VanEck-Backed Superform Launches DeFi Product for “Smart” USDC Yield

Superform, the cryptocurrency yield marketplace, announced on Wednesday the launch of SuperUSDC, a product billed as a “set it and forget it” opportunity to earn high yield on Circle’s. stable coin.

Since launching in Early Access this year, the platform has operated as a decentralized marketplace for yield protocols. Projects can list vaults on Superform, which are linked to yield opportunities on Ethereum as well as dedicated scaling solutions like Arbitration Or Base.

SuperUSDC offers DeFi users “automated, non-custodial yield management” and is the first offering in Superform’s SuperVault product line, according to a release.

Superform Labs Co-Founder and CEO Vikram Arun said Decrypt The move comes after more than 100,000 digital wallets interacted with the platform, providing critical feedback.

“SuperVaults is what we created in response to the most requested functionality from users,” Arun said.

Arun explained that SuperVault automatically allocates digital assets to create opportunities, using an algorithm optimized on platform data. He mentioned that with 768 safes currently on Superform, the product was designed in response to user requests for a more “curated” selection.

Alongside the release of SuperVault, Superform Labs announced that it has raised $3 million in a strategic funding round led by VanEck Ventures. It was the fund’s first investment of $30 million since the global asset manager revealed the initiative in October.

Although Superform is not available to US residents, there is bipartisan hope that lawmakers will soon adopt a federal framework for stablecoins. While regulatory changes under the president-elect are also expected to strengthen DeFi, Arun said providing an influx of stablecoins with the best possible source of yield could become the next “on-chain gold rush.”

“Our thesis is that we are going to see incredible growth in stablecoins,” Arun said. “New on-chain wars will aim to provide as much utility to stablecoins as possible.”

Stablecoins are digital assets linked to the price of a fiat currency, such as the US dollar. Often backed 1:1 by assets such as cash and US Treasuries, stablecoins are increasingly used as a method of payment and collateral on DeFi platforms. In 2022, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler describe The use of stablecoins in DeFi is akin to “poker chips”.

This year, stablecoins have already seen significant growth. Their total market capitalization has increased from $130 billion to $200 billion since January, according to ChallengeLlama. Among all stablecoins, Tether’s $139 billion USDT footprint appears the largest, followed by Circle’s USDC at $41 billion.

Circle Ventures participated in Superform’s $6.5 million seed funding round in November 2022, led by Polychain Capital and with participation from BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes. Arun said the stablecoin issuer then became one of Superform’s largest investors, throwing its weight behind the startup as the crypto market retreated. the collapse of FTX.

After the $40 billion drop in UST and LUNA, as well as crypto lenders in 2022, Arun noted that some users might be wary of projects promising high returns on stablecoins. Still, he remains optimistic that Superform’s connection with Circle could change that perception.

“We have been burned time and time again by stablecoins and yield generating products that are not managed properly,” he said. “I think it’s really important for us to align with the right players and create products that everyone can verify on-chain and don’t create additional assumptions of trust.”

Edited by Sébastien Sinclair