Banks doing C&I lending to modest risk (but still not "rated bond issuer") companies are charging mid-single-digit rates. Those banks are generally paying depositors way under 1%.
There do exist loan portfolios legitimately producing these kind of yields, but they are not trivial to produce. Actively managed and monitored specialized portfolios -- where you would really want to diligence the track record and underwriting/origination methodology of the lender.
Don't get me wrong: dislocations do happen and arbitrages do open up, sometimes for far longer than you might think. But fundamentally, if this is non-Ponzi finance, someone must be using those funds for a productive enterprise that yields enough to cover the cost of capital. What is that in stablecoin lending??
(Source: I am an investor and former operator in specialty lending company, having sourced/raised capital in > 100 debt and equity deals.)
There's a number of companies offering something similar, like Celsius and Blockfi and a few others. Do your own research, and no need to go near it if not comfortable with it.
Things could go either way from here on out, perhaps crypto is the future and 8.88% interest for stablecoins will be the standard; or perhaps it'll all come crashing down and all cryptos go poof in a few years. Who knows? Point being, when a new paradigm comes along, it usually seems strange and uncomfortable enough to feel suspicious. Maybe it's legit, maybe not, there's a chance for either case.
Celsius is a British company and is also HQ'd in the US now.
But in the mean time you can get an 8% return.
You can currently get 8.88% APY return on lending stablecoins on Celsius[0]. It's also much easier to borrow and use in incredibly risky contracts, yield farming, etc
Stablecoins let you engage in much more risk than USD without the volatility of crypto prices.
[0]https://celsius.network/earn-rewards-on-your-crypto