Product Keynote: Streamflow

A crypto founder's costly mistake during the bear market has sparked the creation of a new financial product that could transform how organizations manage their treasury reserves on Solana. At Breakpoint 2024, Streamflow's Malisha Stanojevic revealed USD Plus—a US Treasury-backed stablecoin launching exclusively on Solana that automatically distributes yield to holders daily.

Summary

Streamflow, a veteran Solana infrastructure provider that has supported token operations for over 30,000 projects since 2021, is expanding beyond its core vesting and airdrop services. The company is partnering with M0 to launch USD Plus, a stablecoin fully backed by US Treasury bills that will deliver T-bill yields directly to token holders without any staking or locking requirements.

Stanojevic framed the announcement around a cautionary tale from the previous bull market. He contrasted two founder approaches: one who strategically moved $30 million in raised funds into Treasury bills, generating $100,000 monthly in yield that funded company operations throughout the bear market—and himself, who kept Streamflow's treasury in standard USDC for 18 months, losing approximately 6% of value to devaluation and opportunity costs.

The lesson learned from this experience drove Streamflow to build USD Plus. The product aims to democratize access to US Treasury yields for crypto-native organizations and individuals who previously had no practical way to earn yield on idle stablecoin holdings. Whether holding $100 or $100 million, users will have exposure to one of the world's most trusted asset classes.

Key Points:

The Problem of Idle Crypto Reserves

During bear markets, crypto organizations face a significant challenge: how to preserve capital while maintaining liquidity. Traditional stablecoins like USDC offer stability but zero yield, meaning treasuries slowly bleed value through inflation and missed opportunities. Stanojevic candidly admitted losing roughly 6% of Streamflow's treasury value during the previous bear market simply by holding USDC.

The founder contrasted this with a more sophisticated approach taken by another entrepreneur who converted raised funds to Treasury bills. When T-bill rates rose during the market downturn, this company generated consistent monthly income that covered operational expenses without touching the principal. This strategy wasn't available to most crypto-native companies at the time, creating an uneven playing field between traditional finance and crypto operations.

USD Plus: Treasury-Backed Stablecoin for Solana

USD Plus represents Streamflow's solution to the idle reserve problem, developed in partnership with M0. The stablecoin maintains a $1 peg backed entirely by US Treasury securities—widely considered the most pristine collateral and trusted asset class globally. The product promises full transparency through backing dashboards that allow anyone to verify the underlying assets.

What distinguishes USD Plus from other yield-bearing products is its accessibility and simplicity. There's no minimum investment required, making it available to anyone from small holders to large treasuries. The yield distribution mechanism requires no action from holders—no staking contracts, no lockup periods, no complex DeFi strategies. Treasury bill yields are distributed daily, automatically, to all token holders.

Streamflow's Evolution and Track Record

Streamflow has established itself as critical infrastructure for Solana's token economy since 2021. The platform specializes in token vesting, airdrops, token staking, token locks, and programmable large-scale token distributions. This experience managing complex token operations for major protocols positions the company well to handle the technical requirements of a yield-bearing stablecoin.

The company's client roster includes some of Solana's most prominent projects: Bonk, Kamino, Zeus, io.net, Wormhole, Raydium, Metaplex, and Meteora, among approximately 30,000 total projects served. Streamflow has distributed tokens to 1.5 million different wallets, demonstrating the scale of infrastructure they operate. USD Plus represents a strategic expansion into bringing "internet capital markets" to Solana users.

Facts + Figures

• Streamflow has operated on Solana for over 4 years since 2021
• The platform has served approximately 30,000 different token projects
• Tokens have been distributed to 1.5 million unique wallets
• Notable clients include Bonk, Kamino, Zeus, io.net, Wormhole, Raydium, Metaplex, and Meteora
• One founder's $30 million treasury generated approximately $100,000 monthly from T-bills during the bear market
• Stanojevic estimated Streamflow lost approximately 6% of treasury value by holding non-yielding USDC for 18 months
• USD Plus is launching in partnership with M0
• The stablecoin will be exclusive to Solana at launch
• USD Plus is expected to launch by the end of 2024
• Yield will be distributed daily to token holders
• No staking or locking required to receive yield
• The stablecoin is backed 100% by US Treasury securities
• A waitlist is available at usdplus.com

Top Quotes

• "This company was essentially making $100,000 every month from T-bills yield and completely financing its company operations throughout the bear market from the yield without ever touching the principal."

• "We have lost around 6% of our treasury value just because of devaluation and because of the opportunity cost."

• "Why I didn't do this is because, first of all, I didn't know this was an option. You live, you learn."

• "Even if I knew back in the day, I don't think there was an option for us as a crypto company to actually have access to this and to the yield."

• "We want to bridge this gap. We want to give the knowledge and the access to everyone, essentially, and bring internet capital markets on Solana."

• "It's backed entirely by US Treasury—the most pristine collateral, the most trusted asset in the world."

• "The yield from T-bills is daily being distributed to token holders without any further action needed, no locking, no staking."

Questions Answered

What is USD Plus and how does it work?

USD Plus is a new stablecoin launching exclusively on Solana that maintains a $1 value backed entirely by US Treasury bills. Unlike traditional stablecoins like USDC that offer no yield, USD Plus automatically distributes Treasury bill yields to all token holders on a daily basis. Holders don't need to stake, lock, or take any additional action to receive this yield—simply holding the token in your wallet qualifies you for daily yield distributions. The product is being launched by Streamflow in partnership with M0.

When will USD Plus be available and how can I access it?

USD Plus is expected to launch by the end of 2024, likely within a few weeks of the Breakpoint announcement in December. Interested users can sign up for the waitlist at usdplus.com to be notified when the product goes live. The stablecoin will be accessible to anyone regardless of the amount they hold, from as little as $100 to treasuries holding $100 million or more.

Why should crypto treasuries care about yield on stablecoins?

Holding non-yielding stablecoins during extended market downturns can result in significant value loss through inflation and opportunity cost. Streamflow's founder shared that his company lost approximately 6% of treasury value over 18 months by holding USDC. In contrast, a competitor who moved funds to Treasury bills generated enough monthly yield to cover all operational expenses without touching their principal. For organizations managing significant reserves, this difference can mean the survival or failure of a company during bear markets.

What makes USD Plus different from other yield-bearing stablecoins?

USD Plus differentiates itself through its backing, simplicity, and Solana-native design. The stablecoin is backed 100% by US Treasury securities, considered the safest collateral globally, with full transparency dashboards for verification. Unlike many DeFi yield strategies, USD Plus requires no staking, locking, or active management—yield automatically accrues to holders daily. Its exclusive launch on Solana means users benefit from the network's speed and low transaction costs.

Who is Streamflow and why are they launching this product?

Streamflow is a Solana infrastructure company that has operated since 2021, specializing in token vesting, airdrops, staking, and large-scale token distributions. They've served over 30,000 projects and distributed tokens to 1.5 million wallets, working with major protocols like Bonk, Kamino, and Metaplex. The company is launching USD Plus to expand its mission of streamlining financial operations, specifically to solve the problem they experienced firsthand—losing treasury value by holding idle, non-yielding stablecoins during the bear market.