With the continuous rise of BTC prices this year, the total market capitalization of the crypto market peaked at $3.9 trillion, with BTC alone approaching $2 trillion, ranking just behind Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google's parent company Alphabet in the valuation of US stock companies. Meanwhile, as the anchor token between cryptocurrencies and issuance, the total supply of stablecoins has reached $187.5 billion, setting a historical high. The number of transactions and trading volume increased by 30%-40%, respectively.
As a core tool of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, stablecoins not only enable rapid exchanges between assets but are also seen as important indicators of new capital inflows. Their basic definition is a cryptocurrency pegged to fiat currency or other assets to achieve value stability.
In the stablecoin race, USDT holds the dominant position in the stablecoin field due to its large total market value, while USDC has won market recognition for its compliance. The emerging algorithmic stablecoin USDe has rapidly risen through celebrity endorsements and ongoing brand collaborations, successfully carving out a niche in the market.
Stablecoins have become the 'profit printing machine' in the blockchain field. Just the issuer of USDT, Tether, achieved over $4.52 billion in profits in the first quarter of this year, setting a historical record. In comparison, Tether's net profit for the entire year of 2023 was $6.2 billion, and the rapid growth of profits in this quarter is remarkable, fully demonstrating the astonishing profitability behind the stablecoin market.
In April this year, the stablecoin new star Usual Labs secured $7 million in financing, subsequently launching the stablecoin USD0, aiming to carve out a new century in this blue ocean.
I. What is Usual?
In the past year, Tether and Circle generated over $10 billion in revenue, with valuations exceeding $200 billion. However, these earnings were not shared with the users who contributed to their success, which goes against the spirit of contribution and profit in the current crypto ecosystem.
What Usual aims to do is return the ownership of token issuance and the profits generated from it back to the users. Usual's goal is to return the ownership of token issuance and the resulting profits to users, achieving true decentralized wealth distribution.
In the Usual Protocol, users obtain USD0 by depositing assets, which serves as a deposit certificate (LDT) in the protocol. Users holding USD0 have two options: either lock it to provide liquidity or convert USD0 into liquidity bond tokens (LBT), namely USD0++, thus deeply participating in the DeFi ecosystem and earning profits.
These benefits include airdrop rewards of the project governance token $USUAL, as well as deposit earnings that may be generated within the protocol. Through this design, Usual not only gives users higher participation and profit rights but also allows them to become an important part of the protocol's ecological development.
II. How does Usual operate?
When users deposit assets, the Usual protocol generates Liquid Deposit Tokens (LDT) equivalent to the deposit as synthetic assets. LDT represents the initial value of the user's deposit in the protocol and is supported by the deposited original assets at a 1:1 ratio. LDT allows users to redeem the underlying assets at any time under normal circumstances, providing its holders with permanent withdrawal rights. Additionally, LDT can be freely traded without permission, bringing liquidity and greater operational flexibility to users.
With LDT, users can unlock profit leverage in the DeFi world. For example, users can provide liquidity with LDT or choose to lock it for a certain period to generate liquidity bond tokens (LBT). LBT provides users with additional liquidity, transferability, and composability, facilitating seamless integration and efficient trading within DeFi. More importantly, users actively participating in these interactions will also receive Usual's governance token rewards.
Usual's core philosophy is to create a financial ecosystem based on fairness by distributing value and power more equitably among users. Usual's goal is to make users the true owners of the protocol's infrastructure, funds, and governance.
To achieve this goal, Usual redistributes 100% of the value and control back to the community through governance tokens. Governance tokens not only grant users dominance over protocol development but also ensure financial incentives for participants within the ecosystem are adjusted. By distributing tokens to users and third parties that contribute value, Usual achieves fair circulation of resources and further solidifies the core position of community governance. This new financial model reshapes the relationship between users and the protocol, allowing every user to become a true participant and beneficiary of the ecosystem.
III. Advantages of the USUAL Ecosystem
Usual successfully introduces tokenized real-world assets (RWA) from leading institutions such as BlackRock, Ondo, and Mountain Protocol into the blockchain using a multi-chain infrastructure. Through this integration, Usual has created a permissionless, on-chain verifiable, and composable stablecoin USD0, seamlessly connecting traditional financial assets with blockchain technology. This model not only provides users with more efficient and secure asset stability guarantees but also injects broader asset support into the DeFi ecosystem.
The minting mechanism of USD0 is designed to be highly flexible, supporting two methods: users can directly deposit qualifying RWA assets to obtain USD0; or deposit USDC/USDT to receive an equivalent USD0, with necessary RWA collateral provided by a third party as support. This dual model lowers the participation threshold for users while significantly enhancing the overall liquidity of the stablecoin, providing convenient access for retail users and institutional investors.
Moreover, Usual not only launched the base stablecoin USD0 but also designed an appreciation token USD0++, providing users with flexible earning options. Users can earn governance token USUAL rewards daily by locking assets or choose fixed-period deposits to gain stable, risk-free earnings. This comprehensive earning mechanism meets users' diversified needs between low risk and earning growth, transforming USD0 from merely a value storage tool into a dynamically appreciating financial asset.
IV. USUAL Team and Financing Information
Usual is a powerful project founded by former French Member of Parliament Pierre Person, whose team has deep experience in policy promotion and blockchain technology, ensuring the project's compliance and global expansion. In 2024, Usual completed two rounds of financing totaling $8.5 million and achieved a total locked value (TVL) of $369 million through outstanding product design and market strategy. This strong market performance fully demonstrates Usual's growth potential and industry competitiveness, injecting more confidence and momentum into its future development.
V. USUAL Token Economics
The issuer of the fiat stablecoin USUAL, its governance token USUAL, will in the future possess the actual revenues of the platform protocol, future income, and ownership of the infrastructure. According to official information, the total supply of the fiat stablecoin issuer Usual token USUAL is 4,000,000,000, of which the initial circulation accounts for 12.37% of the total supply, amounting to 494,600,000. Among them, 73% is allocated to the public and liquidity providers to ensure broad distribution of the tokens. 13.5% is allocated to market makers (MM), the team, and early investors. 13.5% is used for community governance activities such as DAO, repurchase, and voting, supporting the long-term development of the ecosystem.
The distribution mechanism of SUAL tokens is highly skewed towards community users, fully reflecting the principles of decentralization and fair distribution. Among them, 90% of the tokens will be allocated to the community, including USD0++ holders, liquidity providers (LP), stakers, and users participating in other protocol products. Meanwhile, as Usual achieves a multi-asset structure, the future token distribution range will further expand to cover LBT and LP rewards for other assets, ensuring that various users can benefit from the protocol's growth.
USUAL tokens have multiple utilities within the protocol ecosystem. Firstly, holders can enjoy all the revenues of the protocol, directly sharing in the economic results of ecological development. Secondly, token holders can earn 10% of the token supply as rewards through staking while participating in protocol governance, such as key decisions regarding treasury reinvestment. In addition, USUAL introduces a token burning mechanism, allowing users to burn USUAL tokens to redeem unstaked USD0++ early, further enhancing the token's circulation value and utilization flexibility.
In terms of dynamic supply adjustment, the issuance mechanism of USUAL tokens dynamically adjusts according to the protocol's total locked value (TVL). When TVL increases, the token issuance decreases accordingly; and vice versa. This design ensures that token issuance is closely aligned with the development of the protocol, providing assurance for the long-term sustainability of the ecosystem.
VI. Analysis of the Future Value of USUAL
The economic model design of the UAL token is robust and attractive, injecting innovative vitality into the RWA stablecoin sector. USUAL is not only a core tool for protocol governance but also endows the token with real value through income support, giving it scarcity and appeal. Stakers can earn 10% of all minted tokens as rewards, effectively encouraging user participation in staking and providing strong support for the sustainable development of the protocol ecosystem.
In terms of inflation control, USUAL has demonstrated outstanding performance. Its minting volume is strictly constrained by the available supply of USD0++ and real-world interest rates, avoiding the dilution of token value due to disorderly inflation. This meticulous design ensures the long-term stability of the token, making it a high-value and potentially lucrative investment target in the market.
