The R2 protocol will be released on September 26th at Ethereum. Users complained about the fact that they must deposit USDC to earn rewards on R2’s mainnet.
summary
- R2 Protocol launched the Ethereum Mainnet on September 26th, debuting with two flagship RWA vaults supported by major institutions.
- The rollout caused a backlash against the rewards program as users criticized the requirement to deposit USDC to unlock 100 R2 tokens.
At 7:00 on September 26th, at UTC, the R2 protocol launched its mainnet on Ethereum. So far, the launch has earned a locked total, reaching $121,290, with over 154,000 users already on the protocol.
According to the official account, R2 is holding a rewards program for early supporters by distributing tokens through the valued mainnet with around 100 R2 tokens.
However, many users in the comment section had problems with the fact that the “rewards program” still requires users to pay by depositing real money into USDC (USDC) with MainNet and unsubscribing the reward.
Some users felt they were “tricked” by the unlock mechanism. They felt it was a way to gatekeep the reward, which excluded small testers and deposit-help testers from getting full reward.
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“You want his airdrop, he wants your capital!” said one user.
“I thank God for collecting USDT for everyone at AMA and I will use it as compensation to waste my time,” another user said.
“Because of this trick, it will forever be stained with thousands of negative reviews on on-chain rating platforms such as Ethos, and future generations will see it,” another user said.
In response, the R2 Protocol team shared a post defending its position on rewards. The protocol claimed that it is guaranteed that all users will receive a 100 R2. However, to unlock you must first deposit 100 USDC for 60 days with an annual yield of 50% from the process.
“Why unlock it? Because only by growing TVL together, we can ensure a better institutional offer and return more to early users,” the protocol for the post said.
We have seen all the reactions to our testnet rewards – excitement, doubt, and even harsh criticism. We understand emotions. Everyone wants fairness and clarity.
This is our stance:
R2 is built in stages without auditing, partnerships and shortcuts.
All testnets…
– R2 Community (@r2yield) September 24, 2025
According to the site, the eligible user is the user who successfully created at least one swap on the R2 testnet and must reach the basic point threshold to unlock rewards.
Users must connect their wallets, invest USDC in one of the vault options, and choose either tokenized Treasury or private credit. Yield accumulates via R2 tokens within a 60-day period.
Starting the mainnet of the R2 protocol
After the R2 Protocol Testnet phase, the launch of the mainnet had over 385,000 addresses registered, with over 50,000 active users registered per day. The launch of Mainnet was a successful integration of 12 major asset management institutions, including Apollo, Mercado Bitcoin, Fasanala, Golfinch, BlackRock, Vanek and Centrifuge.
According to the roadmap, the launch of R2’s native tokens will be held one day by the end of 2025.
In addition to the launch of MainNet, the protocol also launched two flagship RWA wealth management products: the T-Bills Vault and the Private Credit Vault.
The T-Bill Vault is called “a conservative safe backed by the tokenized US Treasury department” with a net annual yield of 4%. This is supported by underlying assets, including BlackRock’s Buidl, Vaneck, and centrifugal tokenized RWA infrastructure.
The second safe, Private Credit Vault, is supported by a curated private credit portfolio with Target Net APYs of around 9% to 10%. This safe is supported by partnerships with Fasanara Capital Ltd, Mercado Bitcoin and Apollo.
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