USDG rewards, explained
Where the rewards come from, why they are rewards and not interest, and the honest mechanics stated plainly.
What is USDG?
USDG is the Global Dollar: a regulated, fully reserved digital dollar issued by Paxos and native to Robinhood Chain. Each USDG is designed to hold a value of one US dollar, backed by reserves. It is the asset your spendable balance sits in and the asset rewards are paid in.
The Global Dollar Network
The reserves backing USDG generate returns. Rather than retaining all of that at the issuer level, the Global Dollar Network shares those returns with participating platforms, which is what makes it possible for a balance to earn simply by being held. Willow passes these rewards through to you on eligible balances held in your own wallet, passing rewards through* at launch.
You earn for holding a regulated digital dollar. Not for taking on risk, and not by lending your money to anyone. This is not a yield strategy, a lending pool, or a staking derivative. It is a share of the returns on the reserves behind a regulated dollar.
What it is
A regulated, fully reserved digital dollar, held in your own wallet, that shares reserve returns with the platforms that hold it.
What it is not
A yield farm, a lending protocol, a deposit account, or an investment product.
Rewards, not interest
This distinction matters and we will always state it plainly.
- Rewards are rewards, not interest. Willow is not a bank and holds no deposits.
- The rate is variable. It derives from the USDG program and prevailing rates, and it can change or cease. It is not guaranteed.
- Earning only happens in your wallet. Money in transit, or drawn onto the card at the moment of spend, is not earning. That is precisely why just in time funding exists, and precisely why Willow will never ask you to preload a balance.
- Paid in USDG. Payout schedule to be published before launch. cadence TBD
A note on honesty
Trust is the product. Willow describes this mechanic exactly as it works, including the parts that are less flattering, such as the fact that money on the card mid spend is briefly not earning. We confirm the reward rate in writing before launch and publish it here the day it is signed. We would rather show you nothing than a number we cannot stand behind.
*Rewards are variable, paid in USDG, and subject to terms. Not interest. Not guaranteed.
Willow is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Robinhood Markets, Inc. or Paxos. All trademarks belong to their respective owners. Not available to US persons.