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Crypto Almanac Daily
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Defi Protocols

Circle USYC

Best for independently tracked protocol

Value locked:$3,005m at this checkChains:4Audits recorded:0Audit report linked:Not foundRubric:v2.0 · verified 9 Aug 2026
Kayla PetersonKayla PetersonDeFi Research Analyst· Last verified August 9, 2026
Confidence ARubric v2.0Verified August 9, 2026
5.4
out of 10
Open account
Scorecard

How it rates

Counterparty & contract risk · 35%3.0
Cost transparency · 15%4.0
Market quality · 20%10.0
Transparency & track record · 20%6.0
Public documentation surface · 10%5.0
Pros
  • $3,005m recorded independently
Cons
  • No audit report linked in the public dataset at this check
  • No accounting methodology published at this check
How this score was built

Each indicator scores 2, 1 or 0. A pillar is the points earned over the points available; the overall score is the weighted sum. Every source below is public — check any of them yourself.

Counterparty & contract risk · 35% weight3/10 points · 3.0/10
Cost transparency · 15% weight4/10 points · 4.0/10
Market quality · 20% weight10/10 points · 10.0/10
Transparency & track record · 20% weight6/10 points · 6.0/10
Public documentation surface · 10% weight5/10 points · 5.0/10

A tokenised treasury product from a regulated issuer holding $3.01bn, with limited public protocol-level disclosure.

Our assessment

Circle USYC holds $3.01bn of tokenised treasury exposure from a regulated, listed issuer, and scores 5.4 in this comparison. As with BUIDL, the gap between the issuer's standing and the protocol score is the point worth explaining.

Corporate disclosure is not protocol disclosure

The issuer publishes audited financials and monthly reserve attestations for its stablecoin business. Those are strong controls. They do not tell a reader how this specific product's contracts work, whether they have been reviewed, or what happens to holders in a redemption freeze — which is what our protocol rubric asks.

Institutional products are documented privately

Products aimed at institutional treasury management are typically explained through direct relationships, term sheets and bilateral reporting rather than public pages. That serves the intended holders and leaves public evidence thin, which is exactly what our score records.

Read it as a yield instrument, not a stablecoin

USYC accrues yield into its price rather than tracking a dollar, so it will trade well above parity. Anyone treating it as a settlement asset has misunderstood the instrument — the same issuer's USDC is the product designed for that purpose.

Who it suits

USYC fits institutions wanting on-chain treasury yield from a regulated issuer, with documentation obtained directly. Users needing public evidence should compare Ondo or Spiko.

Alternatives

How rivals compare

ServiceScoreBest for
Ondo Yield Assets9.3audited protocol with published methodologyRead →
Sky Lending9.3audited protocol with published methodologyRead →
Reference

Frequently asked

Does this score mean Circle USYC is safe?

No. It measures what an outsider can verify: linked audits, published methodology and independently recorded data. Contract and custody risk are not tested by us.

Where do these figures come from?

A public analytics dataset queried at the verification date, plus the audit reports it links. Anyone can re-run the query.

Why do some protocols score zero on audits?

Because no audit report is linked in the public record. It records what a user can reach, not a claim that no audit exists.