The fast-growing market for tokenized US Treasuries has a new leader.
Circle (CRCL), best known as the issuer of the USDC (USDC) stablecoin, has become the largest provider of tokenized Treasury exposure after its USYC token grew to around $2.2 billion in supply, according to RWA.xyz data.
That growth pushed USYC past BlackRock’s USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL) – issued with tokenization specialist Securitize – which currently holds around $2 billion in assets. BUIDL’s market share fell to 18% from a peak of 46% in May as competition increased with new entrants.
Real-world tokenized assets such as Treasury bills and money market funds are gaining traction among crypto traders and institutional investors as yield-generating collateral and a tool to park onchain cash. Unlike traditional financial infrastructure, blockchain-based tokens allow near-instant settlement, transparent reserves and 24/7 access.
Treasury-backed tokens also offer an additional benefit: they allow investors to earn interest while using the assets as collateral in trading strategies, potentially improving capital efficiency compared to holding stablecoins or cash.
Circle entered the tokenized fund market after purchasing Hashnote, the issuer of USYC, in early 2025.
BUIDL issuer Securitize did not return a request for comment by press time.
A booming market
A deeper dive into the data shows that much of USYC’s recent expansion appears to be linked to activity on BNB Chain, where crypto exchange giant Binance introduced the token as OTC collateral for institutional derivatives trading.
Under the structure, USYC can be held with partner banks through the Binance Banking Triparty or with Ceffu, Binance’s institutional depository platform.
Since launching in July, the USYC supply of BNB has grown to $1.84 billion, data show.
“Tokenized government bonds and repos as collateral is an important new use case, and we’re proud of how quickly this has grown,” Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said Friday in a post on X.
The broader tokenized financial market is also booming, hitting a new record of over $11 billion, according to data from RWA.xyz. The sector added about $2.5 billion in market capitalization, about 27%, since the start of the year.
Growth accelerated during January’s crypto market downturn, suggesting that some investors may be parking capital in tokenized government bonds to earn a steady dividend while waiting for opportunities to reallocate funds to digital assets.
