Bullish backs USD.AI with $100M in GPU-backed loan financing

Bullish, the institutionally focused digital asset exchange that trades on the NYSE under ticker BLSH, is deepening its relationship with USD.AI through $100 million in financing designed to fuel a lending model that sounds almost too 2025 to be real: loans backed by graphics processing units.

The commitment builds on Bullish’s earlier $4 million equity investment in USD.AI, which marked the exchange’s first post-IPO investment when it was announced in September 2025. Through its Bullish Capital arm, the exchange isn’t just writing checks. It’s providing operational liquidity and strategic support, even referencing the partnership during earnings calls.

How GPU-backed lending actually works

The loans are structured as non-recourse, meaning if a borrower defaults, the lender can seize the GPU collateral but can’t pursue the borrower’s other assets. They’re organized through special purpose vehicles and secured by senior liens on the hardware, with amortizing terms of three years.

USD.AI keeps things relatively conservative with loan-to-value ratios generally capped at 80%. Fixed interest rates range between 7% and 15%, depending on the quality of the offtake agreements.

The protocol has originated and deployed over $100 million in GPU-backed loans as of September 2025. Its pipeline tells a bigger story: more than $1.2 billion in prospective loans as of mid-2026.

The tokenized layer

What separates USD.AI from a conventional equipment lender is its on-chain architecture. The protocol runs a two-token model. USDai functions as a synthetic dollar backed by US Treasuries. sUSDai is the yield-bearing variant, recently reporting a net APY of roughly 7.65%.

That yield comes from interest earnings on the GPU-backed loans, supplemented by Treasury returns.

USD.AI also facilitates something called GPU Warehouse Receipt Tokens, or GWRTs, which represent tokenized claims on the underlying hardware collateral. Third-party escrow arrangements add another layer of risk management to the structure.

Recent high-profile loan facilities illustrate the scale USD.AI is reaching. A $26.8 million facility for Crucible Capital closed in April 2026, while a $98.1 million deal with Duos Edge AI pushed the protocol firmly into nine-figure territory for individual transactions. Sharon AI is another named partner in the growing roster of borrowers.

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