Introducing OpenTrade Stablecoin Staking Yield
Figment and OpenTrade have introduced "OpenTrade Stablecoin Staking Yield," a new stablecoin yield product designed to target a yield of 15% by leveraging Solana staking returns. Crypto.com is providing custody for the underlying assets involved in this product.
According to an announcement made on Monday, institutions will deposit and withdraw stablecoins, while the yield is generated through Solana (SOL) staking rewards and an offsetting perpetual-futures hedge managed by OpenTrade. The platform handles deposits and withdrawals through Figment’s system, with the investment strategy executed within an OpenTrade-managed vault.
Figment has stated that this strategy has historically achieved returns exceeding Solana's typical staking rate, which ranges from 6.5% to 7.5%.
Jeff Handler, co-founder and chief commercial officer at OpenTrade, commented that the new product offers companies access to a distinctive yield opportunity that is not currently available through traditional real-world assets (RWA) or decentralized finance (DeFi) channels.
Figment is recognized as a significant institutional staking provider, managing $18 billion in staked assets. OpenTrade operates a platform focused on on-chain and RWA-backed lending, as well as stablecoin yield products.
The Growing Landscape of Solana Staking Products
The passage of the U.S. GENIUS Act in July established a clear, federally mandated regulatory framework for stablecoin issuers, which has contributed to the growth of this asset class. However, the legislation also prohibits stablecoin issuers from offering interest or yield directly to token holders.
Consequently, some institutions have begun to explore staking-based returns, with Solana attracting considerable interest, particularly through recently launched staking exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The first Solana staking ETF was introduced in July when REX-Osprey’s SSK fund commenced trading. By July 22, it had accumulated over $100 million in assets under management.
On October 28, Bitwise launched a new Solana ETF that debuted with more than $220 million in assets. The following day, Grayscale’s Solana Trust ETF (GSOL) began trading on the NYSE Arca platform.
These products function by staking the SOL held by the fund to support the network and earn rewards. Grayscale distributes approximately 77% of these rewards to its shareholders. Bitwise, in comparison, distributes roughly 72% of the rewards and retains the remainder as part of the fund's operational structure.
Despite the increased regulated access to Solana staking rewards, the price of SOL has experienced recent downward pressure. As of this writing, SOL is trading around $135 per token, representing a decrease of approximately 19% over the past two weeks, according to data from CoinGecko.
