Blockchain-based asset management firm Superstate has introduced a new tokenized fund that offers yield based on the popular “cash-and-carry” investment strategy.
The USCC token is an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain that offers holders a yield by buying spot Bitcoin {{BTC}} and Ether {{ETH}} and then taking or selling equal amounts of short positions in BTC and ETH futures. This trade provides a delta-neutral position, allowing you to profit from the market without making directional bets on price movements. For example, several hedge funds have pursued this strategy by buying spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares and selling Bitcoin derivatives on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
Incorporating investment strategies like carry trade into digital tokens is a novel extension of crypto’s hot tokenization trend, which puts traditional investments like bonds, funds and credit on the blockchain rails. Ethena Labs’ “synthetic dollar” USDE token, which attracted more than $3 billion in deposits in the first half of this year, also offers holders a yield through carry trade.
But there are some differences in the structure of Superstate and Essena’s products, Superstate CEO Robert Leshner said in an interview with CoinDesk.
Essena’s tokens generate yields from the funding rate of perpetual futures and pass the proceeds on to people who lock up or stake their tokens. Superstate, on the other hand, sells futures with specific maturity dates that offer more predictable returns and distributes the yield to all token holders, Leshner said. The USCC also targets qualified whitelisted investors to comply with U.S. securities laws and operates as an affiliate of Superstate’s bankruptcy-remote entity, a Delaware Trust, he added.
“[USCC] “It’s a highly regulated product, low risk but also low reward,” Leshner said.
Superstate has partnered with a prime brokerage firm to execute the fund’s futures trades, while spot assets are held with custody partner Anchorage Digital.
The asset manager’s new product follows the rollout of its first tokenized fund holding short-term U.S. Treasury securities. The previous fund attracted about $80 million in assets since its debut earlier this year, according to data from rwa.xyz.
