Are big companies changing how they earn money from digital coins?
Research question: How do recent SEC filings indicate changes in how digital assets and tokenized services are being monetized by established firms?
Recent filings show USBC still building its tokenized deposit platform, with no revenue from customer contracts in Q2 2026 1. Its revenue share comes from the anticipated yield on tokenized deposit balances, which Vast Bank sets at its sole discretion 6. USBC also monetizes idle crypto by pledging Bitcoin as collateral for derivatives and a Bitcoin-backed credit facility 2812. Avalanche Treasury records staking rewards as staking revenue 13 and recorded $16.2 million of impairment losses on liquid staking tokens in the first half of 2026 24. The facts cover only a few companies, and the newest one is dated August 27, 2026, about two months before October 2026, so they do not establish a broad industry-wide shift 1224.
Sources
"is currently developing its tokenized deposit platform and has not commenced revenue-generating operations"10-Q USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-07
"The Company pledges Bitcoin as collateral for its derivative trading activities."10-K USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-03-25
"We show that tokenization does not create value merely by making an asset transferable, fractional, or digitally scarce."Digital Ownership: The Tokenization of Real-World Assets (2026)
"USBC will serve as the network operator, Vast Bank will serve as the issuing bank for customer deposit accounts, and Uphold will provide platform integration and customer access services."10-Q USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-07
"outputs are expected to enable monetization through multiple fee-based and recurring revenue models across the commodity and digital"10-K Streamex Corp. (STEX) (CIK 0001530766) 2026-03-31
"Deposit Revenue shall be calculated monthly based on the anticipated yield attributable to the tokenized deposit balances allocated to each asset category as determined by Vast in its sole discretion."10-Q USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-07
"Throughout the period that the digital asset receivable is outstanding, the receivable will be measured at fair value of the underlying loaned digital asset with changes recorded in changes in fair value of digital assets in current period earnings."10-K USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-03-25
"The Company pledges Bitcoin as collateral for its derivative trading activities."10-Q USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-07
"The Company does not use derivatives, futures, options, or other hedging instruments to mitigate its exposure to Bitcoin price volatility."10-K USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-03-25
"by and between the Company and Monetary Metals & Co., a Delaware corporation (“Monetary Metals”)."10-K Streamex Corp. (STEX) (CIK 0001530766) 2026-03-31
"from both established financial institutions and emerging technology firms."10-K Streamex Corp. (STEX) (CIK 0001530766) 2026-03-31
"Under our Prime Broker Agreement with the Payward entities, Payward Financial, Inc., a Wyoming Special Purpose Depository Institution, provides Custodial Services to us in connection with our Bitcoin-backed credit facility."S-1/A USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-27
"Staking rewards earned by the Company through staking of these assets are recognized as an addition to digital assets and as staking revenue in the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations in the period in which such rewards are recognized."424B3 Avalanche Treasury Corp (AVAT) (CIK 0002092446) 2026-08-19
"the Company does not earn revenue by charging users for products or services. The Exodus wallet is offered to users for free; the majority of the Company’s revenue is earned by charging fees to the API Providers"CORRESP Exodus Movement, Inc. (EXOD) (CIK 0001821534) 2024-07-09
"We use Payward Financial’s Custodial Services to hold Bitcoin pledged as Collateral under our Master Loan Agreement with Payward Interactive. The Collateral is held in Collateral Accounts for our benefit, subject to the security interest in favor of Payward Interactive."S-1/A USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-27
"Effective January 1, 2024, the Company early adopted ASU 2023-08, which requires entities to measure certain cryptocurrencies at fair value, with changes in fair value recorded in net income in each reporting period."6-K Bit Digital, Inc (BTBT) (CIK 0001710350) 2024-05-15
"the Company’s digital assets were classified as current based on management’s expectation that such assets may be monetized within the next twelve months to support the Company’s operating and liquidity requirements."424B3 Avalanche Treasury Corp (AVAT) (CIK 0002092446) 2026-08-19
"For transaction services provided by API Providers to users located in the United States, we charge API Providers a monthly tiered subscription fee"CORRESP Exodus Movement, Inc. (EXOD) (CIK 0001821534) 2024-07-09
"The related Account Control Agreement also provides that Payward Financial will not lend, rehypothecate, make margin loans or take similar action with respect to the Collateral while the Account Control Agreement is in effect."S-1/A USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-27
"As a result of the adoption of ASU 2023-08 effective January 1, 2024, impairment of digital assets was no longer recognized."6-K Bit Digital, Inc (BTBT) (CIK 0001710350) 2024-05-15
"The Company exchanges AVAX for liquid staking receipt tokens, including stAVAX and sAVAX, through the Hypha Protocol and BENQI Protocol, respectively, in connection with its liquid staking activities."424B3 Avalanche Treasury Corp (AVAT) (CIK 0002092446) 2026-08-19
"For transaction services provided by API Providers to users located outside the United States, we generally utilize a transaction-based structure to charge API Providers a percentage of the underlying value of"CORRESP Exodus Movement, Inc. (EXOD) (CIK 0001821534) 2024-07-09
"Strategic Partnership Agreement, dated as of January 20, 2026, by and among the Company, Vast Bank and Uphold"S-1/A USBC, Inc. (USBC) (CIK 0001074828) 2026-08-27
"The Company recognized impairment losses on its liquid staking digital assets of $11.1 million and $16.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, respectively."424B3 Avalanche Treasury Corp (AVAT) (CIK 0002092446) 2026-08-19
"Everstake is a staking service provider that pays Exodus a subscription-based fee, based on the amount of assets staked by users, for the ability to connect to the Exodus Platform and interact with users."CORRESP Exodus Movement, Inc. (EXOD) (CIK 0001821534) 2024-07-09
"On October 1, 2023, the Company made of investment of 2,701 Ethereum, with a fair value of $4.7 million, into Bit Digital Innovation Master Fund SPC Ltd. (the “Fund”)."6-K Bit Digital, Inc (BTBT) (CIK 0001710350) 2024-05-15
"In addition, in connection with the redemption of its liquid staking assets during the three and six months ended June 30, 2026, the Company recognized gains of $1.8 million related to stAVAX and $2.1 million related to sAVAX."424B3 Avalanche Treasury Corp (AVAT) (CIK 0002092446) 2026-08-19
"regardless of our ability to generate revenue from our digital assets or our high performance computing services, we may need to raise additional capital in the form of equity or debt to fund our operations and pursue our business strategy, including purchases in order to fund our high performance computing services."6-K Bit Digital, Inc (BTBT) (CIK 0001710350) 2024-05-15
"Please note that the Company has ceased providing non-custodial staking tools to third parties and is only conducting solo-staking."CORRESP MarsProtocol Inc. (CIK 0001953021) 2023-09-08
"We respectfully advise that as of July 1, 2023, the Company stopped providing its StaaS business model and is focusing on solo-staking."CORRESP MarsProtocol Inc. (CIK 0001953021) 2023-09-08
"the Company earned fees and Miner Extractable Value (“MEV”) revenues in the forms of ETH from solo-staking."CORRESP MarsProtocol Inc. (CIK 0001953021) 2023-09-08
"Tokenized treasury yields are significantly lower than those of comparable T-bill ETFs, even before accounting for gas fees and platform costs."Democratization or Illusion? Evaluating Tokenized Real-World Assets from a Retail Investor Perspective (2026)
"As such the Company no longer accept accepts Bitcoin, ETH, USDT, or USDC from its customers, if any, or as a form of payment"CORRESP MarsProtocol Inc. (CIK 0001953021) 2023-09-08
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