Introducing OpenTrade Stablecoin Staking Yield
Figment and OpenTrade have introduced OpenTrade Stablecoin Staking Yield, a new stablecoin yield product designed to offer institutional investors annual returns targeting 15%. This product leverages Solana staking rewards to generate yield. Institutions will be able to deposit and withdraw stablecoins, while the yield is generated through Solana staking rewards and an offsetting perpetual futures hedge managed by OpenTrade.
The process for deposits and withdrawals is handled through Figment's platform, with the investment strategy executed within an OpenTrade-managed vault. Figment has stated that this strategy has historically delivered returns exceeding Solana's typical staking rate, which ranges from 6.5% to 7.5%.
Product Details and Institutional Adoption
Jeff Handler, co-founder and chief commercial officer of OpenTrade, commented that the product provides companies with access to a yield opportunity that is not readily available through traditional real-world assets or existing decentralized finance routes. Figment operates as a significant institutional staking provider, managing approximately $18 billion in assets under stake. OpenTrade offers a platform that facilitates on-chain and RWA-backed lending, as well as stablecoin yield products.
Regulatory Landscape and Solana ETFs
The U.S. GENIUS Act, passed in July, established a federally mandated regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers. This law specifically prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering interest or yield directly to tokenholders. In response to these regulations, some institutions have begun to shift their focus towards staking-based returns. Solana has seen considerable interest in this area, particularly with the recent launch of several staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
REX-Osprey's SSK fund became the first Solana staking ETF when it launched in July. By July 22, it had already surpassed $100 million in assets under management. Bitwise launched its own Solana ETF on October 28, which debuted with over $220 million in assets. The following day, Grayscale's Solana Trust ETF began trading on the NYSE Arca platform.
These ETF products function by staking the Solana held within the funds to contribute to the security of the network, in exchange for staking rewards. Grayscale has committed to returning approximately 77% of these rewards to its shareholders, while Bitwise distributes roughly 72% of its staking rewards.
Solana Market Performance
At the time of reporting, Solana was trading around $135. This represents a decrease of approximately 19% over the past two weeks.