Figment, a major staking infrastructure provider with $18 billion in assets at stake, is partnering with OpenTrade and Crypto.com to offer a new yield product aimed at institutional investors seeking returns from stablecoins.
The product offers approximately a 15% annual return, based on past performance, when betting on Solana. and use perpetual futures to offset token price volatility. Investors deposit stablecoins and receive interest without being directly exposed to the price of SOL. Crypto.com custody the assets staked in legally segregated accounts.
While staking has typically required exposure to the price of the token being staked, this structure separates performance from the volatility of the asset. For example, an institution holding USDC can earn a similar return to SOL staking (typically between 6.5% and 7.5%) while avoiding the risk of price swings. Additional performance comes from managing futures positions that neutralize price movements.
This approach is different from typical DeFi lending, which often involves counterparty risk and less transparency. Figment and OpenTrade say the product gives institutions the ability to earn returns while interacting only with known entities and within a legal framework that is not typically available in on-chain markets.
Crypto.com’s custody agreement includes collateral provisions and keeps assets separate from the company’s own balance sheet, a feature often required by institutional compliance standards.
The product can be accessed through the Figment platform and application programming interfaces (APIs). Stablecoins can be deposited and withdrawn at any time, and interest accrues from the time of deposit.
While the structure may not appeal to retail users familiar with decentralized finance, it reflects a shift toward more controlled and predictable performance strategies in crypto markets.
