Minds builds the future of social media with USDC and Circle Yield

THE OPPORTUNITY

A growing crypto company invests treasury funds on-chain

Driven by their values of open-source development, privacy and encryption, Minds is rapidly expanding their cutting-edge, blockchain-based social network. More users appear to be gravitating toward the platform’s transparency and content governance policies designed to minimize bias and censorship. Their growth has captured the attention of major media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Wired, TechCrunch and Reuters

While closing their recent $10 million Series B funding round, the Minds treasury team began seeking ways to deploy this capital injection on the blockchain. According to CEO Bill Ottman, the calculus was simple. “Why would we have our raise sitting in a savings account doing nothing? We believe in the crypto space, and we owe it to our shareholders and ourselves to put our money where our minds are.”

THE SOLUTION

Circle Yield helps balance growth and security

As of November 17, 2022, Circle Yield is not accepting new loans. We are evaluating future updates to the program.

After a thorough evaluation, the Minds team allocated a portion of the raise into Circle Yield*, a new investment vehicle that can help crypto companies balance growth and security. It’s denominated in USDC, the world’s fastest growing dollar digital currency, and offers a fixed term and a rate** that’s much higher than those available from banks and many fixed income markets. 

“The ability to create yield on our idle USDC balance is a game-changer,” Ottman notes. “Circle Yield is helping us plan our growth, because we can project future cash flows from the earnings and budget that money into how we scale.”  Circle Yield is available in terms ranging from a month up to a year, and the ability to choose a fixed term can be crucial for growing companies with unpredictable working capital needs.

Circle Yield is also central to Minds’ treasury diversification strategy. Since it guarantees a fixed rate, it greatly reduces  uncertainty while enabling Minds to keep funds on-chain. Circle Yield is also fully secured and overcollateralized with Bitcoin, with all collateral held by a third-party custodian that serves more than 400 institutional clients.

USDC’s stability and liquidity across numerous blockchains has also begun to simplify Minds’ operations. Since many Minds contractors and suppliers accept it as payment, the company can pay them straight from its Circle Account, without needing to reach into its bank account and deal with the friction inherent in traditional funds transfers.

“I want to have our balance sheet work for us. We believe in the crypto space, so we want to leverage Circle Yield and other tools to capitalize on its growth and momentum.”

– Bill Ottman, CEO, Minds

 

1  defipulse.com
2  bitcointreasuries.net

*Offering subject to business approval, geographical availability***, and regulatory authorization, and there is no guarantee that the product will become available in a specific timeframe or to a specific customer or geography. Yield product offered through Circle International Bermuda Limited (“Circle Bermuda”). It is anticipated that Circle Bermuda will enter into lending arrangements with one or more institutional borrowers, including Genesis Global Capital, LLC.**** These lenders pledge and transfer Bitcoin into custody with a third party custodian as collateral for their USDC borrowings and Circle Yield investors benefit from a security interest in  Circle Bermuda’s security interest in the pledged Bitcoin.

Circle Account and money transmission services are provided by Circle Internet Financial, LLC or, for customers using Circle Account services located in the United Kingdom, Circle UK Trading Company Limited. Circle Internet Financial, LLC, NMLS # 1201441, is a licensed provider of money transmission services. Circle Payments, LLC, DFPI Money Transmitter License # 2549, is registered under the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation. A full list of Circle’s licenses can be found here.

Circle is not a bank; your Circle Account is not a bank account, and any funds are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation or by any US or foreign government agency, insurance fund, person or entity. For investors in the United States, investments described in this communication are offered by Circle Bermuda to “accredited investors” only in accordance with Regulation D, Rule 506(c) of the Securities Action of 1933, as amended. While Circle Bermuda is regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority for digital asset business, Circle Bermuda is not engaged in banking and deposit taking activities and is not regulated for these purposes. You should carefully conduct your own investigations and analyses in connection with any participation in this product, including its objectives, risk factors, fees and expenses and the information set forth in these materials. All prospective participants in the products described herein are advised to consult with their legal, accounting and tax advisers regarding any potential participation. Please read the offering documents carefully before you invest. Additional information is available upon request.

**Rates are purely indicative and are subject to change pending availability, approval and market conditions. Withdrawal requests for fixed term accounts could take up to 72 hours in high withdrawal periods and will be subject to an early withdrawal penalty.

*** Not currently available in the following U.S. states: Alaska, New York and Hawaii.

****Learn more about Genesis Global Capital, LLC here.