Deribit Launches USDC Yield Program Offering 4% Annual Return

Deribit, the world’s leading crypto options exchange, has introduced a new rewards program for eligible holders of USDC, aiming to expand users’ collateral options and improve capital efficiency across its platform.

The program is made possible through Deribit’s use of Coinbase as a custody partner for USDC. Coinbase, in turn, pays yield to USDC holders, with the current rate set at 4% as of July 2025. However, users should be aware that this rate is subject to periodic adjustments by Coinbase.

USDC, the world’s second-largest dollar-pegged stablecoin, boasts a market capitalization of $63.83 billion at the time of writing. Deribit handles nearly 80% of global crypto options trading activity, making this new offering a potentially significant development for the market.

Eligibility for earning USDC yield depends on users’ jurisdictions. For institutional clients, Deribit will consider both their country of incorporation and principal place of business.

To qualify for rewards, users must hold their USDC directly on Deribit’s platform rather than with an external custodian. In hybrid storage scenarios, only the USDC maintained on Deribit will count toward earning yield.

The first payouts under this new program are scheduled for August 2025. Rewards will be calculated based on the lowest daily USDC balance held by users between July 15 and July 31, according to Deribit’s announcement.