Key facts
- USDai protocol has paid over $20 million in cumulative yield to users.
- Staking USDai currently offers an 8% APY, with expectations of climbing.
- GPU-backed loans now represent close to half of USDai's reserves.
- Eight GPU loans worth $370 million are in the pipeline.
- USDai supply is approximately 201.1 million tokens, with most on Arbitrum.
- USDai pools have a total value of about $1.43 million.
The USDai decentralized stablecoin protocol has surpassed $20 million in cumulative yield paid to users, driven by a growing demand for its unique GPU-backed lending model. According to analytics firm Entropy Advisors, staking USDai currently yields approximately 8% APY, with projections to reach 11% as more loans for AI infrastructure are deployed.
USDai, issued by USD.AI, routes stablecoin deposits into loans secured by physical GPU hardware. Depositors mint USDai 1:1 from USDC or USDT and then stake it into sUSDai, which earns yield from both Treasury bills held in reserve and interest from AI infrastructure borrowers.
GPU loans now constitute nearly half of all reserves, alongside PYUSD and wrapped U.S. Treasury bills. Eight GPU-backed loans totaling $370 million are currently in the pipeline, a significant shift from late 2025 when Treasuries backed approximately 99% of the staked supply.
The protocol's on-chain presence has expanded with its loan book. USDai has a supply of about 201.1 million tokens, with 6.88 million staked into sUSDai. Secondary trading has generated roughly $436.5 million in lifetime volume across eight decentralized exchanges (DEXs) and nine token pairs.
Most of USDai's activity occurs on the Arbitrum network, which accounts for nearly 298 million of the approximately 306.5 million tokens tracked across chains. Smaller balances exist on Plasma, Ethereum, and Base. USDai utilizes LayerZero's OFT standard for cross-network transfers, with recent data showing net inflows of $141,100 to Arbitrum.
Despite its supply, USDai's on-chain liquidity remains modest, with its pools holding about $1.43 million in total value. Direct USDai liquidity on Arbitrum, spread across venues like Uniswap, Curve, PancakeSwap, and Fluid, totals approximately $760,236.
USDai's model is part of a broader trend to link stablecoin yields to AI infrastructure demand. Last year, the protocol integrated PayPal's PYUSD and established a $200 million GPU financing facility with Japan's Quantum Solutions for its AI sector.
The current 8% staking yield for USDai significantly surpasses that of major yield-bearing stablecoins like Sky Lending's SUSDS (3.60% APY), Circle's USYC (3.13% APY), Ethena's sUSDe (3.57% APY), Ondo's USDY (3.55% APY), and BlackRock's BUIDL fund (3.56% APY). This higher return is attributed to USDai drawing yield from GPU-collateralized loans to AI infrastructure operators, a private-credit segment that offers higher returns but also entails greater risk compared to traditional Treasury or overcollateralized on-chain lending.