Stablecoin depegs are a recurring feature of cryptocurrency bear markets. And the latest candidate is apxUSD, the preferred equity-backed stablecoin of the Apyx protocol.
As the leader of the bitcoin market fell sharply in the last 24 hours, hitting lows below $63,000 at one point, apxUSD briefly fell to as low as 93 cents, deviating from its 1:1 peg with the dollar, according to CoinMarketCap.
The stablecoin is primarily backed by preferred shares issued by digital asset treasury companies, specifically Strategy’s STRC shares, which have a face value of $100.
The protocol buys those shares, collects the dividend they pay, and distributes the return to holders on the chain. The reserve basket also includes short-term US Treasuries and cash equivalents to ensure liquidity and reduce concentration risk.
Apyx runs a two-token system. apxUSD is the basic stablecoin designed to trade at $1 and pays no yield; Holders who deposit apxUSD receive apyUSD, a savings token that generates returns through dividends flowing from the underlying preferred shares.
That said, because preferred stocks make up the majority of those reserves, the stablecoin is influenced by the volatility of the underlying stocks. So, when STRC trades below its face value of $100, the market value of apxUSD reserves decreases, leading to volatility in the stablecoin in secondary markets.
This, according to Apyx, is not an extraordinary advance.
“This is not a bug, it is expected behavior of a stablecoin backed by preferred shares rather than cash deposits. Holders who understand STRC’s risk profile and its history of mean reversion should view these episodes as the asset class working through its normal cycle, not evidence of a broken peg,” the protocol noted in a detailed X post.
He explained that his bonding stability model has multiple layers to absorb stress. Preferred stocks have structural features that allow issuers to increase dividend rates, which attracts demand for the shares and raises their value toward par over time.
According to Apyx, the strategy has historically used this lever. Note that STRC has traded below its face value four times since August last year, and each episode ended with prices bouncing back up to $100.
Beyond that, Apyx said it maintains a collateral value higher than the circulating supply of the stablecoin. This cushion helps absorb mark-to-market reductions in supporting assets before they significantly impact bonding.
“Users can compare the collateral position with the apxUSD supply in real time through the app dashboard,” he said.
The explanation comes as market participants panicked over the brief decoupling, with some saying persistent volatility could shake investor confidence.
There were also concerns about cascading liquidations in the Morpho lending markets, but Apyx said they were largely misplaced. It said its main Morpho apyUSD/apxUSD market is driven by dividend accumulation, not the STRC spot price, meaning that volatility in STRC does not affect that oracle or trigger liquidations.
