Dual currency investments: From the trading floor to tokenized stocks that never close

If you have spent any time on a private banking desk in Asia or Switzerland, you know the dual currency investment. It is one of the most widely sold structured products in the world. Banks have been distributing DCIs to treasuries, corporates and private clients for decades, and the outstanding notional across the industry runs into the hundreds of billions of dollars every year.

The product is simple. You deposit one currency, you pick a second currency and a target exchange rate, and you earn an enhanced yield for a fixed term. At maturity you get your money back in one of the two currencies, depending on where the market settled. In effect you are being paid a premium for agreeing to buy or sell the second currency at a level you were comfortable with anyway.

That last point is what makes DCIs so durable. They are not a bet on direction. They are a way to earn yield on a view you already hold: I am happy to hold dollars at this rate, or I am happy to swap into euros at that one.

Why DCIs became a core crypto product

The mechanics transfer directly to digital assets. Swap the two fiat currencies for BTC and USD, or ETH and USDT, and the product works identically. Deposit stablecoins, set a target price for bitcoin, and earn yield. If bitcoin finishes below the target, you are converted into bitcoin at that price. If it finishes above, you keep your stablecoins plus the yield. Or the reverse: deposit bitcoin and set a target price. If bitcoin finishes above the target, you are converted into USD at that price. If it finishes below, you keep your bitcoin plus the yield.

What changed the economics is volatility. The yield on a DCI is funded by an option premium, and option premiums scale with implied volatility. Major FX pairs trade at single-digit implied vol. Bitcoin and ether typically trade at 30 to 70 percent, and altcoins higher still. The same structure that pays a couple of percent in EUR/USD can pay double-digit annualised yields in BTC/USDC, with the client choosing the strike that matches their own view.

$5B+ cumulative option notional traded by STS Digital
400+ tokens quoted across our product suite
Feb 2026: STS Digital DCI product went live on Kraken

For treasuries holding stablecoins or crypto, this has become a mainstream way to earn yield without leaving custody, without leverage, and without giving up the choice of where to convert. Since February 2026, STS Digital has been the principal behind the DCI products on Kraken, pricing and hedging every trade ourselves under our Bermuda Monetary Authority licence.

How a crypto DCI works, step by step

1. Choose your pair and term

Deposit crypto or a stablecoin. Pick the second asset you would be content to hold, and a term, typically 1 to 30 days.

2. Set your target price

Choose the level at which you are happy to buy or sell. A target closer to the current price pays more yield; a target further away pays less but converts less often.

3. Earn the enhanced yield

The yield is fixed at trade time and paid regardless of outcome. It reflects the option premium STS Digital pays you for taking on the conversion.

4. Settle in one of two assets

At expiry, settlement is decided against an independent reference index. You receive either your original asset plus yield, or the second asset at your target price plus yield.

What a DCI is not. It is not capital protected. If the market moves through your target, you are converted at that level even if the spot price is now much further away. The right way to use a DCI is with a target you would genuinely be happy to transact at. Used that way, it is a disciplined tool for accumulating or distributing a position while being paid to wait.

The next wave: DCIs on tokenised equities

The obvious question is what happens when the underlying is no longer a currency or a coin, but a stock.

Tokenised equities such as xStocks bring US-listed shares on-chain as freely transferable tokens backed one-for-one by the underlying. That opens the door to a DCI on “traditional” stocks, including the most traded ones such as Tesla, Nvidia, Apple or the S&P 500, structured exactly like the BTC product: deposit stablecoins, choose the stock you would be happy to own and the price you would pay for it, and earn yield while you wait.

Two things make this more than a novelty. First, single-name equities carry meaningful implied volatility of their own. For example, a DCI on NVDAx or TSLAx can offer yields that traditional cash-secured put programmes on the listed stock cannot match once you account for the friction of doing it yourself. Second, and more fundamentally, tokenised stocks trade 24/7. The product no longer has to respect the US cash session, exchange holidays or the T+1 settlement cycle. A treasury in Singapore or Zurich can enter a DCI on a US stock on a Saturday evening and settle physically on-chain when it matures.

Easier to access than the original

The tokenized version also strips out most of what makes the TradFi product a chore.

No brokerage, no prime broker

A TradFi equity DCI means an account with a private bank or a cash-secured put programme through a prime broker, with onboarding measured in weeks. A tokenised DCI needs one relationship with STS Digital and stablecoins in your wallet.

One balance, many underlyings

The same USDC funds a BTC DCI, an ETH DCI and an NVDAx DCI. No moving money between an FX desk, a crypto exchange and an equity broker.

Smaller tickets, shorter tenors

TradFi equity DCIs typically start at six or seven figures with one to three month terms. Tokenised DCIs run from days and much smaller sizes.

Physical settlement on-chain

If you are converted you receive the xStocks token in your wallet, not a share in a brokerage account in another jurisdiction. It is yours to hold, transfer or post as collateral immediately.

One counterparty. Every asset class. Around the clock.

Most institutions run their yield strategies across three or four venues: a crypto exchange for BTC and ETH, an FX desk for currencies, a broker for equities, a separate line for commodities. Each has its own collateral, its own margin call, its own settlement cycle and its own operations team to chase.

STS Digital is built to collapse that into a single relationship. We price DCIs and options across crypto and tokenised equities today from one desk, under one legal agreement, with one collateral pool, and tokenised FX and commodities are rolling out next. A client can hold BTC as collateral against an ETH DCI and an NVDAx DCI at the same time. Margin is calculated across the whole portfolio, so offsetting positions reduce the collateral you need rather than each trade being funded in isolation.

And because every underlying is tokenised, the desk never closes.

Multi-asset: Crypto and tokenised equities, FX and commodities, all from one desk.
24/7: Every underlying is on-chain, so there is no session, no holiday calendar and no waiting for the US open.
Cross-asset margin: One collateral pool across the whole portfolio. Positions are netted, not siloed.

Why trade DCIs with STS Digital

We are the principal. Every DCI is priced, hedged and settled by STS Digital. No third-party reliance.
Regulated. STS Digital Ltd is licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority and has been audited for three consecutive years.
Client assets sit in client accounts, ring-fenced from STS's own capital and never used for its own proprietary trading.
Independent settlement. Every DCI settles against a published reference index, not a house price.
Access your way. Trade DCIs through the STS client portal, our API, via voice, or through partner platforms including Kraken.

Interested in DCIs for your treasury?

Speak with your STS Digital relationship manager or visit stsdigital.io.

_{This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Structured products involve risk and may not be suitable for all investors. Dual currency investments are not capital protected. STS Digital Ltd is licensed and regulated by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Services are restricted to professional and institutional clients and conditioned upon successful completion of onboarding processes. Please speak with your STS Digital relationship manager for product-specific documentation and terms.}