RWA Decentralization stablecoin: usual.money Depth Analysis

Stablecoins, as the cornerstone of the cryptocurrency industry, play a key role in large-scale payments and industry adoption. As of the end of July 2024, the total market capitalization of stablecoins reached $16.8 billion, with the two major centralized stablecoins USDT and USDC accounting for about 90% of the market share.

The stablecoin business is highly profitable, with two major players generating over $10 billion in revenue in 2023, and a valuation exceeding $200 billion. One company even recorded a profit of $4.52 billion in the first quarter of 2024. This immense profit is contrary to the spirit of cryptocurrency, leading to a surge in various decentralized stablecoin projects.

Decentralized stablecoins have successful cases, but generally require the use of crypto assets as collateral, which necessitates complex mechanisms to cope with coin price volatility. Introducing Real World Assets (RWA) can effectively solve this problem. In 2023, the growth of RWA on the blockchain exceeded 800%, showing great potential.

The usual.money project introduces U.S. Treasury bonds as collateral, combining Ethereum smart contracts to provide transparency and security, while returning profits to the community and contributors. This design can be seen as an on-chain version of a centralized stablecoin protocol, featuring 1:1 RWA characteristics along with the security and transparency advantages of being on-chain.

Project Background

In April 2024, Usual Labs completed a $7 million financing round with participation from several well-known investment institutions. Founder Pierre Person previously served as a member of the French National Assembly, promoting legislation on crypto assets in the country.

On July 10th, the Usual mainnet was launched. By early August, the total value locked (TVL) of the project reached $146 million. Its stablecoin USD0 is mainly traded in the USD0/USDC pool on a certain DEX, with liquidity of about $11.33 million. On another DEX, USD0 has also formed a liquidity pool with GHO.

USD0 has a vault planned by MEV Capital on a certain lending platform, with total collateral in the USD0/USDC and USD0++/USDC liquidity pools approaching $30 million. Through these pools, you can simultaneously earn Usual's Pills rewards and platform token rewards.

The USUAL token is expected to be issued in the fourth quarter of 2024, with 90% allocated to the community.

Mechanism Analysis

Collateral and Minting

USD0 is the first RWA stablecoin that aggregates various US Treasury bond tokens, which can be minted in two ways:

1. Direct RWA deposit: Users deposit qualified RWA at a 1:1 ratio to receive USD0.
2. Indirect USDC/USDT deposits: Users deposit USDC/USDT, and a third party provides RWA collateral to mint USD0 at a 1:1 ratio.

With USD0, Usual can integrate RWA token liquidity from various platforms, addressing the challenges of RWA settlement in the secondary market and allowing retail investors to obtain returns.

Yield Mechanism

USD0++ is the enhanced version of USD0 treasury bonds. USUAL is the governance and reward token of the protocol. Users can earn rewards in the following ways:

1. Staking USD0 locked as USD0++, select the usual token form for daily earnings.
2. Choose basic interest protection with a lock-up period of 6 months, guaranteeing a return equivalent to at least the yield of USD0 collateral.

Whether obtained through primary issuance or the secondary market for USD0++, holders have the right to receive USUAL tokens.

Interactive Tutorial

Pills Event Overview

• The pre-launch phase starts on July 10 and lasts for 4 months.
• Airdrop of 7.5% of the total supply of USUAL
• Obtain airdrop eligibility through referrals and TVL contributions
• Linear distribution: The more you contribute, the more you receive.

Detailed operation steps

1. Visit the Usual Money dApp and enter the early access code.

2. Deposit USDC, USDT, or ETH to mint USD0 (Ethereum mainnet)

3. Ways to earn Pills:

   • Minting: Locking USD0 for USD0++ earns 5 coins
   • Holding: Hold USD0++ daily to earn 3 coins
   • Provide liquidity: Earn 1-3 coins daily in specific pools.
   • Time multiplier: increases by 2% daily, exit position will be reset

4. Select the USD0/USD0++ option on the liquidity page and enter the USD0 amount to add liquidity.

Pills Event Phase 2

Launched on August 4th, earn Pills by completing tasks on Galxe.