OKX Money promises up to 10% stablecoin yield, politely declines to explain the magic 🪄

Crypto exchange OKX has launched OKX Money, a stablecoin savings and payments app rolling out across parts of Latin America, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East, with qualifying customers able to earn an annual percentage yield of up to 10% on eligible USDG balances without staking or a lockup. The app lets users fund accounts in more than 50 supported currencies, which are then converted into dollar-backed stablecoins, according to an announcement shared with Cointelegraph. Users can hold USDG, USDC or USDT, send funds and spend with virtual or physical cards.

A spokesperson for OKX said the rollout is happening market by market, in line with local requirements, with the relevant legal entity and regulatory framework varying by jurisdiction, and declined to disclose specific initial launch markets. "Customers can qualify for a higher tier by meeting a 30-day average deposit threshold, exceeding a 30-day spending amount or achieving a higher Exchange VIP status," the spokesperson said, adding that rates and eligibility vary by region and customer. The spokesperson also declined to comment when asked how the yield is funded.

OKX joined Paxos's Global Dollar Network in July 2025, giving its users access to USDG for trading and transfers. The Global Dollar Network distributes earnings from USDG reserves to partners, and those reserves include US Treasury bills, money market funds and cash, according to Paxos. By contrast, USDC and USDT are fully backed by asset reserves, according to their issuers.

The launch comes as cross-border stablecoin flows rose 77.5% to $220.3 billion in the 12 months ending June 2026, according to Chainalysis, which cited trade, remittances and savings as use cases. Earlier stablecoin yield products have drawn scrutiny, including Anchor Protocol, which offered returns of up to 20% on TerraUSD (UST), an algorithmic stablecoin whose dollar peg depended on conversion into the linked LUNA token. UST lost its peg in May 2022, and both tokens subsequently collapsed.

Regulators are also circling the model. The US GENIUS Act includes a ban on payment stablecoin issuers paying interest or yield, while banking groups have pushed for restrictions on exchange-paid rewards, and the European Union's Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation prohibits issuers and crypto service providers from granting interest on single-currency stablecoins.