Circle moves to bring Hashnote Tokenized Fund under Bermuda oversight

Circle Internet Group is increasing its footprint in Bermuda through the addition of Hashnote Tokenized Money Market Fund under its licensed Digital Assets Business Act (DABA). The acquisition, revealed in a press release published by the company, seeks to consolidate Circle’s position in the tokenized financial services market.

Hashnote is the issuer of USYC, a tokenized money market fund with $990 million in assets under management as of March 6, 2025. Unlike traditional money market funds, USYC is a digital asset that is based on blockchains, allowing investors to trade shares.

Circle has said that it plans to bridge USYC with its stablecoin USDC, allowing it to move between the two without a hitch. This is expected to drive up the use of digital currency in the market and also increase its liquidity in the markets.

With this expansion, Circle establishes USYC as a valuable collateral asset to crypto exchanges, custodians, and institutional financial firms. The underlying assets are used to loan and sell in order to maximize the security that backs various monetary undertakings.

The Hon. E. David Burt, JP, MP, Premier of Bermuda, noted: “Circle’s continued commitment to Bermuda demonstrates our successful approach to providing regulatory clarity for innovative financial services. Digital financial products like USYC and USDC are strengthening Bermuda’s digital connectivity and our leadership in international business markets.”

Circle has been running its operations in Bermuda since 2021 under the regulation of the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA). The stablecoin issuer is reportedly the first crypto company to get a full license under the BMA.

Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Allaire described Bermuda as a market with regulatory certainty that fits with Circle’s growth of the tokenized money market business. According to Freeman Law, Bermuda was among the pioneers to step forward and provide legal definitions for digital assets.

Circle’s big bet on institutional partnerships

In addition to the development today, Circle has also been pursuing institutional relationships to cement its position in the tokenized economy.

In January 2025, Circle announced that the USDC and USYC will be launched on the Canton Network, which is a blockchain for real-world asset trading. This network facilitates more than $1.5 trillion in monthly repurchase (repo)transactions and has support from key financial organizations.

Additionally, Circle recently partnered with Cumberland, a crypto trading company and a subsidiary of DRW Holdings, to support the liquidity and settlement of USYC and USDC.

SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of financial giant SBI Holdings, has also been granted a license to operate as an Electronic Payments Provider in Japan. This comes after receiving approval under the new framework of Japan’s Financial Services Agency (JFSA), enabling the exchange to provide stablecoins and the first to list and distribute USDC.

“USDC becomes the first and only global dollar stablecoin to become approved for use in Japan.”

Jeremy Allaire

There is growing traction for tokenizing real-world assets (RWAs). Colin Butler, the head of institutional capital at Polygon, recently referred to RWAs as a $30-trillion opportunity, saying there is a growing demand among high-net-worth individuals to obtain liquidity in traditionally illiquid assets.

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