In summary
- Superform launched SuperUSDC, offering automated yield management for USDC in its SuperVault product line.
- The platform raised $3 million led by VanEck Ventures and seeks to revolutionize DeFi with utility for stablecoins.
- SuperUSDC aims to restore trust after 2022 scandals, supported by Circle and a transparent on-chain infrastructure.
Crypto yield marketplace Superform on Wednesday announced the launch of SuperUSDC, a product billed as a “set it and forget it” opportunity to earn high yield with the Circle stablecoin.
Since launching in early access this year, the platform has functioned as a decentralized marketplace for yield protocols. Projects can list vaults on Superform, which are tied to yield opportunities on Ethereum, as well as dedicated scaling solutions like Arbitrum or Base.
SuperUSDC offers DeFi users “automated, non-custodial yield management” and is the first offering in Superform’s SuperVault product line, according to a statement.
Superform Labs co-founder and CEO Vikram Arun told Decrypt that the move comes after more than 100,000 digital wallets interacted with the platform, providing critical feedback.
“SuperVaults is what we created in response to what was the most requested feature by users,” Arun said.
Arun explained that SuperVault automatically allocates digital assets to create opportunities, using an algorithm optimized with the platform’s data. He mentioned that with 768 vaults currently on Superform, the product was designed in response to user requests for a more “curated” selection.
In conjunction with the launch of SuperVault, Superform Labs announced that it had raised $3 million in a strategic funding round led by VanEck Ventures. It represented the fund’s first investment of $30 million since the global asset manager introduced the initiative in October.
While Superform is not available to US residents, there is bipartisan hope that lawmakers will soon approve a federal framework for stablecoins. With regulatory changes under the President-elect expected to boost DeFi as well, Arun said providing an influx of stablecoins with the best possible source of yield could become the next “on-chain gold rush.”
“Our thesis is that we will see incredible growth in stablecoins,” Arun said. “The new chain wars will be fought around providing the greatest possible utility for stablecoins.”
Stablecoins are digital assets pegged to the price of a fiat currency, such as the US dollar. Often backed 1:1 by assets such as cash and US Treasuries, stablecoins have found increasing use as a form of payment and collateral on DeFi platforms. In 2022, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler described the use of stablecoins in DeFi as similar to “poker chips.”
This year, stablecoins have already seen significant growth. Its total market capitalization has grown to $200 billion from $130 billion since January, according to DefiLlama. Among all stablecoins, Tether’s $139 billion footprint for USDT is the largest, followed by Circle’s USDC at $41 billion.
Circle Ventures participated in Superform’s $6.5 million Seed funding round in November 2022, which was led by Polychain Capital and featured participation from BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes. Arun said the stablecoin issuer then became one of Superform’s largest investors, backing the startup as the crypto market retreated from the FTX collapse.
Following the $40 billion drop from UST and LUNA, as well as crypto lenders in 2022, Arun noted that some users might be wary of projects that promise high returns on stablecoins. However, he remained optimistic that Superform’s connection to Circle could change this perception.
“We have been burned so many times by stablecoins and yield-generating products that are not properly managed,” he said. “I think it’s really important for us to align ourselves with good players and build products that anyone can verify on-chain and that don’t create additional trust assumptions.”
Edited by Sebastian Sinclair
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