What this is
Short-term US treasuries set the rate a dollar can earn while taking essentially no credit risk. Whatever a yield stablecoin pays above that anchor is risk premium: compensation for smart-contract risk, depeg risk, liquidity risk, and issuer credit. Pennyworth quotes it in basis points (1 bp = 0.01%).
What it means for your yield
The premium is a fast plausibility check. A few hundred basis points over treasuries can be explained by mechanism income; a premium of several times the risk-free rate demands an explanation — either an unusually strong mechanism, a temporary subsidy, or a risk that is being underpriced.
Where it appears on Pennyworth
The detail-page hero prints the treasury anchor, the CEX flexible-savings median, and the product’s premium in bps. The list board’s yield rail draws every product against the same two anchors.