Real World Asset (RWA)

What's the fundamental difference between 'yield-bearing stablecoins' (like USDY, sDAI) and regular USDC?

This is the most direct RWA application in the Stablecoin space — the difference lies in whether reserve interest is passed to holders.

Regular USDC: Circle holds Treasury reserves; Treasury interest goes entirely to Circle (its primary revenue source). Holding USDC gives you only a 'stable $1' with no interest.

Yield-bearing stablecoins (USDY / sDAI / USDM, etc.): designed to pass the interest from underlying assets (usually Treasuries or similar low-risk assets) to holders. Two common mechanisms:

• Rebasing: your holdings automatically increase — 1,000 becomes 1,010, each still worth $1
• Appreciation: holdings don't change, but the 'redemption ratio' per unit rises — your 1,000 eventually redeems for $1,010

Representative projects: Ondo Finance's USDY (directly backed by short-term US Treasuries, requires KYC, only for non-US persons); MakerDAO's sDAI (distributes protocol revenue to DAI depositors via DSR).

Selection considerations: if you're holding stablecoins for longer periods (over a month), yield-bearing products prevent you from letting the issuer keep all the interest. But you need to understand the underlying asset structure and associated risks.

What are the legal risks of tokenized Treasuries? If the issuing institution fails, what happens to my 'Treasuries'?

This is the most central legal question for RWA, and the answer depends on the specific legal structure design.

Ideal legal structure: the on-chain token represents your ownership of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), the SPV holds real Treasuries, and the SPV's assets are legally segregated from the issuer's general assets. Under this design, even if the issuer fails, the Treasuries in the SPV still belong to token holders and can be distributed legally.

Practical issues: not all RWA products have such clear legal segregation design. Some products use more complex intermediary structures with uncertain segregation effectiveness. And different jurisdictions have inconsistent legal recognition of 'ownership represented by on-chain tokens' — actual protection in litigation or Liquidation scenarios needs real-world case validation.

Practical advice for users: before using RWA products, confirm the issuer has disclosed complete legal structure documentation; prioritize products issued in regulated jurisdictions (like US or EU) with legal opinion letters from law firms; consider legal consultation for large amounts. Ondo Finance's USDY is regulated by the SEC in the US with relatively transparent legal structure — currently one of the main reference standards.

MakerDAO (Sky Protocol) adopted RWA as DAI reserves — what impact does this have on DAI's decentralization characteristics?

This is a continuously debated issue in the DeFi community, centered on the trade-off between 'efficiency' and 'decentralization purity.'

Why MakerDAO introduced RWA: pure crypto asset reserves (like ETH) shrink dramatically in bear markets, placing enormous Liquidation pressure on the DAI system; tokenized Treasury yields (approximately 4-5%) far exceed the opportunity cost of idle on-chain assets, bringing stable income to support the system and MKR buybacks. Post-introduction, MakerDAO system revenue increased substantially, and DSR can be maintained at an attractive level.

Impact on decentralization: introducing RWA means part of the DAI system's reserves now depend on traditional financial institutions and legal system enforceability. If an SPV holding Treasuries faces regulatory action, or a specific RWA issuer has problems, DAI's reserve adequacy could be affected. This compromises DAI's 'fully on-chain, trustless' characteristics — even with governance remaining on-chain, some reserves depend on off-chain laws and institutions.

Community response: within MakerDAO, some voices call for limiting RWA proportions to maintain decentralization purity; others argue that financial sustainability is a prerequisite for decentralized protocol long-term survival, and moderate RWA introduction is the pragmatic choice. Currently, RWA accounts for over 50% of DAI reserves — the evolution of this proportion is an important indicator for observing MakerDAO's direction.

How can retail investors currently participate in RWA yields? What are the entry thresholds?

Entry thresholds depend on which type of RWA product you want. Here are the main retail participation approaches currently:

Lowest threshold (no KYC required): sDAI (Sky Protocol): deposit DAI into Sky Protocol's savings contract, current DSR approximately 5-6%, fully permissionless, only requires an Ethereum wallet and a small Gas Fee. This is currently one of the most convenient channels for retail investors to access tokenized Treasury yields.

Medium threshold (KYC required): Ondo Finance's USDY (non-US users only, KYC required), Backed Finance's bIB01 (tokenized short-term European government bonds), etc. These products typically require minimum investment amounts (some NT$500-$1,000), and can be held directly on-chain after completing KYC verification.

Indirect participation (best for beginners): by holding sDAI or depositing USDC on DeFi lending platforms (Aave, Compound), indirectly accessing market-rate-linked yields without directly interacting with RWA protocols.

Notes: RWA products typically restrict US users (because the US has strict regulations on unregistered securities, and tokenized Treasuries may be classified as securities); liquidity of underlying assets in Liquidation needs monitoring — on-chain token liquidity doesn't mean off-chain assets can be immediately liquidated.