Coinbase's asset management division has announced the launch of a stablecoin credit fund, known as CUSHY, which offers investors the opportunity to access on-chain lending and private credit markets through a tokenized share class. This fund is designed to cater to institutional investors seeking yield from digital asset lending activities. Investors will have the option to hold tokenized shares on-chain via Superstate's platform, with the fund available on Ethereum, Solana, and Base, Coinbase's Ethereum-based blockchain.
The introduction of this fund reflects the growing convergence of traditional credit markets and crypto infrastructure, driven by the surge in stablecoin transactions and the increasing migration of financial activities to blockchains. Over the past two years, the supply of stablecoins has doubled to $300 billion, while monthly transaction volumes have tripled to $1.2 trillion.
According to Anthony Bassili, president of Coinbase Asset Management, "Stablecoins are the foundation of the next financial era. With CUSHY, we are combining the efficiency of digital infrastructure with the rigor of traditional credit." This move highlights a broader trend of asset managers leveraging tokenization to expand their product distribution, potentially bringing more traditional finance activities to the blockchain environment. The tokenized share class of CUSHY is powered by FundOS, Superstate's platform for bringing investment funds on-chain. This approach enables asset managers to issue and manage blockchain-based shares alongside traditional ones, without requiring custom token structures.
Invesco, an asset manager with over $2 trillion in assets under management, has recently adopted the FundOS platform, demonstrating a shift towards shared infrastructure rather than one-off tokenization efforts. Superstate co-founder Jim Hiltner noted, "We serve as the link between on-chain demand and asset managers with sophisticated institutional experience." The company expects several more asset managers to adopt the platform in the coming months, indicating early momentum beyond initial partnerships. Superstate CEO Robert Leshner stated that the partnership will enable the fund to expand across multiple blockchain networks and into decentralized finance (DeFi) use cases.