Cayman Islands-registered Buck Labs has introduced the “BUCK” crypto token, positioning it as a yield-bearing “savings coin” aimed at users seeking returns on dollar-denominated crypto holdings without relying on traditional stablecoins.
The token is backed by shares of Strategy (MSTR) shares, the largest corporate owner of bitcoin with nearly 675,000 BTC on its balance sheet.
Initially priced at $1, BUCK is designed to distribute rewards currently targeted at around 7% annually, with returns on a minute-by-minute basis, Travis VanderZanden, founder and CEO of Buck Labs, told CoinDesk. BUCK is not marketed as a stablecoin and does not maintain a hard dollar peg, meaning the price can fluctuate based on market conditions.
Rewards distributed to holders are funded indirectly through the fund’s treasury holdings of Strategy’s bitcoin-linked perpetual preferred stock, known as STRC, which pays periodic income to the Treasury. Strategy and its chairman Michael Saylor are not affiliated with Buck and neither sponsor nor endorse the token.
“Any healthy economy needs both a way to spend and a way to save, which is why Buck is introducing SavingsCoin,” said VanderZanden, who previously held leadership roles at Bird, Lyft and Uber. “Stablecoins have become very good at moving money, but Buck is designed for what happens in between, earning rewards on idle capital.
BUCK is structured as a governance token, with holders allowed to vote on reward distribution and other protocol decisions. The company said the token is initially intended for non-US users and is not offered as a security.
VanderZanden said the product is aimed at users who want predictable crypto-based returns without active trading. “People want a simple way to earn rewards in crypto without becoming speculators,” he said. “Buck is designed to make saving in crypto more intuitive.”
Buck Labs said the product is designed to complement, rather than replace, existing stablecoins by offering a savings-focused alternative to longer-term holdings.
