Galaxy Digital and DeFiance Capital settle large OTC trade using yield-bearing stablecoin USDO

Galaxy Digital and DeFiance Capital recently executed a high seven‑figure over-the-counter (OTC) crypto trade that was settled using USDO, a yield‑bearing stablecoin issued by OpenEden Digital, rather than a traditional non‑yielding stablecoin such as USDC or USDT. USDO is backed by short‑term U.S. Treasury bills held in regulated structures, and is designed to pass through the underlying T‑bill yield to holders while functioning as a dollar-pegged settlement asset. According to OpenEden, this trade marks one of the first times that a yield‑bearing stablecoin has been used directly as settlement liquidity between institutional trading counterparties, rather than being limited to treasury or cash‑management use cases. Galaxy Digital, a large institutional crypto trading and financial services firm, and DeFiance Capital, a crypto‑native investment fund, used USDO as the settlement currency for a sizable OTC transaction, demonstrating that institutions are willing to accept yield‑generating tokens for trade settlement when they are issued under recognized regulatory frameworks. OpenEden Digital, which issues USDO, operates under a Bermuda Digital Asset Business Act (DABA) license, positioning USDO within a regulated environment aimed at institutional users. The deal is significant because OTC desks and trading firms have historically relied on non‑yielding stablecoins (USDC, USDT and similar) as the standard settlement rails for digital asset trades. Using a yield‑bearing stablecoin potentially improves capital efficiency for market participants by allowing funds earmarked for settlement to continue earning on underlying T‑bills until a transaction is completed, while also testing market appetite for tokenized real‑world asset (RWA) products as core infrastructure rather than peripheral yield tools. The transaction thus serves as a proof‑of‑concept for broader institutional adoption of yield‑bearing stablecoins in trading, settlement, and liquidity management.

✨ AI-generated background, compiled from web sources — not editorial content.

More coverage

• OpenEden's USDO Used As Settlement Currency For Institutions (openeden.com)
• Galaxy Digital Expands Global Crypto Trading Business with ... (prnewswire.com)
• [PDF] galaxy-digital-holding-ltd-et-al-assurance-of-discontinuance-2025.pdf (ag.ny.gov)
• Galaxy: An Institutional Digital Assets & Data Center Leader | Galaxy (galaxy.com)
• SPDR® Galaxy Digital Asset ETFs - State Street Global Advisors (ssga.com)

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