SS #92 - YC Settles First All-Stablecoin Deal in USDC

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Good morning.

Y Combinator has completed its first all-stablecoin funding round, settling $500K in USDC on Solana for prediction markets startup Totalis via three onchain transactions, with CEO Garry Tan confirming the option is now open to any YC-backed company as the accelerator moves to normalize stablecoin settlement across its entire portfolio.

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In Today's Edition:

• Headline: YC Settles First All-Stablecoin Deal in USDC

• Quick Bites: Societe Generale Unit Adds Stablecoin to MetaMask

• Yield of the Week: USDC Vault (Abyss)'s 11.21% APY

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HEADLINE

State of play: Y Combinator has completed its first all-stablecoin funding round, settling $500K in USDC on Solana for Totalis, a prediction markets startup, signaling a broader shift in how the accelerator moves capital.

• The $500K was settled in three onchain transactions via Ramp, a financial operations platform Totalis will also be used.

• YC CEO Garry Tan confirmed the stablecoin payout option is open to any YC-funded startup, not just crypto-native companies.

• Visiting crypto partner Nemil Dalal noted stablecoin transfers cost under one cent and settle in under one second, compared to days and tens of dollars for international wires.

What’s Next: YC plans to extend stablecoin payouts across its portfolio, with Dalal flagging continued interest in funding startups focused on stablecoins, tokenization, and onchain credit markets.

Why it Matters: When a top-tier accelerator moves its funding rails onchain, it normalizes stablecoin settlement for the entire startup ecosystem, not just crypto companies.

Our Take: The $500K amount is trivial. The signal is not. YC just told every founder and every fund that USDC on Solana is a legitimate settlement layer, and that traditional wire infrastructure is optional.

QUICK BITES

• Societe Generale unit adds MiCA-compliant stablecoin to MetaMask.

• Tether backs SDC’s $134M private placement used to acquire SKY tokens.

• Sen. Tillis aims to release draft resolving Clarity Act's stablecoin yield dispute.

• Tether introduces crypto wallet to bring stablecoin and BTC payments to users.

YIELD OF THE WEEK

USDC Vault (Abyss): 11.21% APY

• The vault accepts USDC deposits and deploys capital into DeepBook's margin ecosystem, generating yield from trading activity, with ~$1.71M in total deposits.

• Capital is deployed directly into DeepBook's margin infrastructure, acting as liquidity for the trading ecosystem and earning a share of activity-driven returns.

• Yield is generated from trading fees and margin activity on DeepBook, delivering a stable 11.21% APY with low volatility, suited for conservative DeFi participants seeking steady stablecoin returns.

USDC Vault (Zircuit): 9.02% APY

• The vault accepts USDC deposits and allocates capital across institutional-grade DeFi strategies including Monarq, Aave, and Morpho, with ~$1.51M in total USDC deposits across ~$1.58M in total AUM.

• Capital is primarily deployed into Monarq's USDC strategy (~$1.43M), with remaining allocations spread across Aave and Morpho lending markets to optimize risk-adjusted yield.

• Yield is generated from lending demand and strategy returns across curated DeFi protocols, delivering a 9.02% APY on USDC and 8.00% on USDT, on infrastructure securing $500M USD and audited by institutional-grade security partners.

Gauntlet eUSD Core: 9.35% APY

• The vault accepts eUSD deposits and allocates capital across curated Morpho lending markets following Gauntlet's CORE framework, optimizing risk-adjusted yield across liquid collateral markets, with ~$1.22M in total deposits.

• Capital is primarily deployed into WBTC/eUSD (~$1.13M at 91.51% utilization) and ETH+/eUSD (~$91.58k at 90.63% utilization), with a smaller allocation to wstETH/eUSD at 90.79% utilization.

• Yield is generated from lending demand across high-utilization collateralized markets, with individual market APYs ranging from 10.22% to 10.42%, net of a 10% performance fee.

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Disclaimer: All the information presented in this publication and its affiliates is strictly for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or taken as financial, legal, investment, or any other form of advice.