Image source: https://usual.money/

The USUAL token is part of Usual’s decentralized and secure infrastructure for creating fiat-backed stablecoins within the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. Usual aims to redefine the ownership and governance structure of the stablecoin market by enabling users to actively participate in the success of the protocol through redistribution. This multi-chain infrastructure aggregates tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs) from entities such as BlackRock, Ondo, and Mountain Protocol to create USD0, a permissionless, on-chain verifiable stablecoin.

Project Overview: USUAL Token’s Core Vision

Usual’s mission is to build a transparent and equitable ecosystem for stablecoins, leveraging RWAs and offering governance rights to $USUAL token holders. The primary goal of Usual is to redistribute ownership and control to users and third parties, transforming how wealth and governance are distributed in the stablecoin market. This vision contrasts sharply with traditional stablecoin systems like Tether and Circle, which generate immense revenue without providing users who contribute to their success with ownership benefits.

Usual’s Three Core Observations: Addressing DeFi’s Core Challenges

The development of Usual was driven by the recognition of three key factors in the DeFi space:

1. Revenue Inequity: In 2023, Tether and Circle generated over $10 billion in revenue, but none of this was shared with the users who support their success.
2. Underutilized Real-World Assets (RWA): While RWAs are growing, they have been slow to integrate into DeFi platforms. The number of RWA holders on the mainnet remains limited to fewer than 5,000, despite growing interest and the arrival of on-chain US Treasury Bills.
3. Lack of Exposure to Project Success: DeFi users have been demanding more substantial exposure to the success of projects they support. Current yield models do not sufficiently reward early contributors or those taking on higher risks within the DeFi ecosystem.

Usual solves these issues by giving users access to both yield and growth exposure, redistributing ownership and enabling participants to benefit from their contributions.

Usual’s Key Products: Bridging DeFi and Real-World Assets

Usual’s infrastructure is built around three main products, each serving distinct yet interconnected purposes:

• USD0: A fiat-backed stablecoin for payments, trading, and collateral use, designed to ensure stability while maintaining decentralized control.
• USD0 Liquid Staking Token (LST): A yield-generating product that provides liquidity staking rewards, offering users the opportunity to participate in growth within the DeFi ecosystem. This product aims to enhance returns by tokenizing Real-World Assets.
• USUAL Governance Token: The $USUAL token itself is crucial for the protocol’s decision-making. Token holders are empowered to vote and influence key decisions related to the Usual ecosystem, ensuring decentralized governance and greater participation from the community.

Key Features of USUAL Protocol

1. Mint & Redeem Engine: Usual’s Mint & Redeem Engine enables efficient creation (minting) and withdrawal (redeeming) of USD0 stablecoins, providing liquidity and access to participants in the platform. This mechanism facilitates the stablecoin’s seamless integration into decentralized finance, ensuring both scalability and reliability.
2. USD0: USD0 is a decentralized, fiat-backed stablecoin designed to serve as a reliable store of value for payments, trading, and collateral within DeFi. Its stability and transparency are fundamental in offering users the confidence needed to interact within the Usual ecosystem.
3. USD0++: USD0++ is a Liquid Staking Token (LST) that allows for enhanced yield generation within Usual’s infrastructure. It expands upon USD0 by adding staking capabilities for Real-World Assets, providing additional growth and yield exposure for DeFi participants.
4. USUAL: The $USUAL token functions as the governance token for the Usual protocol. Holders of $USUAL tokens participate in decision-making processes, influencing the direction and policies within the ecosystem, which ensures decentralized governance.
5. USUAL: USUAL: USUAL is a special token tailored for early investors, contributors, and advisors to the Usual protocol, offering distinct governance rights. These holders benefit from receiving 10% of all $USUAL token distributions, a feature permanently embedded in the protocol. In the early stages, USUAL holders maintain majority voting rights to guide the protocol’s development. Over time, governance will shift towards a more decentralized approach involving broader participation from $USUAL token holders, while preserving *USUAL holders’ permanent rights.
6. USUALx (USUAL Staking): USUALx enables holders to stake $USUAL tokens in exchange for additional governance rewards and benefits. By staking their USUAL tokens, users help secure the network and participate in Usual’s decentralized governance structure while earning valuable rewards.
7. USUAL Distribution: The USUAL token distribution mechanism prioritizes fair and community-driven emissions. Tokens are emitted daily, with the rate adjusted based on performance indicators like TVL growth and interest rates. Allocated through on-chain vaults (e.g., UsualX and UsualS) and validated off-chain via merkle proof, emissions are capped to control inflation. Governance oversees the distribution across liquidity providers, stakers, and market makers, ensuring flexibility and alignment with Usual’s long-term growth trajectory while gradually reducing token emissions as TVL increases.
8. USUAL Airdrop: The USUAL Airdrop is designed to incentivize early involvement by rewarding users who participated in the prelaunch phase. Participants are divided based on their holdings of “pills”—off-chain data gathered during the campaign—into the Top 80% and Bottom 20%. Airdrop recipients can claim tokens according to their group’s standing, with multiple claiming options available. This structured approach ensures tailored rewards, enhancing engagement from a variety of users based on their participation level.

How USUAL Token Redistributes Ownership and Governance

A central principle behind the USUAL token is to democratize governance and ownership within the stablecoin ecosystem. Unlike traditional models, where centralized parties own the infrastructure and reap all rewards, Usual allows its users to hold, govern, and directly benefit from their participation in the platform.

To illustrate, think of a scenario where, instead of the centralized entity behind Tether owning the entire project and the associated revenue, the users who provide liquidity and governance are the true owners.

By utilizing $USUAL tokens, users gain the power to vote on platform decisions, shape the future of USD0, and help expand the protocol’s ecosystem. Through this, Usual is pioneering a new framework for decentralization in financial protocols.

Benefits of USUAL Token: What Users Gain

As an ecosystem that redistributes both growth and yield, the $USUAL token offers substantial benefits to users who engage with the platform:

• Ownership and Governance: Users directly contribute to the success and future direction of the Usual platform. Every holder of $USUAL tokens participates in decision-making processes within the community and governance model.
• Stable and Secure Assets: Through the USD0 stablecoin, participants have access to a secure, fiat-backed token with the advantages of decentralization. It’s a solution aimed at improving financial inclusivity and stability in DeFi.
• Higher Yield Generation: With USD0 LSTs, users can stake and earn significant returns while enjoying exposure to tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs), thus enabling participation in the broader financial market via on-chain tokens.
• Composability: The multi-chain infrastructure of Usual is designed to ensure that assets and participants in the ecosystem can operate across chains in a flexible, composable way.

Tokenomics: USUAL Token and its Market Structure

Image source: https://www.gate.io/trade/USUAL_USDT

The USUAL token’s core tokenomics focuses on ensuring the proper balance of utility, governance, and staking rewards within the Usual platform:

• Market Cap and Supply: As of January 2025, the $USUAL token has an approximate market cap of $195.66 million as of January 21, 2025 and a total supply of 4 billion tokens. This supply will be distributed among different participants, with some tokens reserved for liquidity provisioning, staking, and governance.
• Governance: The $USUAL token facilitates community-driven governance, ensuring that decisions on protocol development, system changes, and partnerships are made through decentralized consensus.
• Inflation Control: The overall inflation of the $USUAL token will be managed through staking mechanisms, governance participation, and incentivization to keep the value stable in accordance with the platform’s long-term goals.

Gate.io has now launched USUAL trading pairs. Click the link to jump to the transaction: https://www.gate.io/trade/USUAL_USDT

Pricing and Market Dynamics: Understanding the USUAL Token Value

The value of the USUAL token is largely driven by several key factors:

• Demand for Decentralized Stablecoins: The growing adoption of decentralized finance solutions and interest in fiat-backed stablecoins is creating a demand for projects like Usual.
• Yield Generation Products: With the innovative USD0 Liquid Staking Token and exposure to Real-World Assets, the $USUAL token holds long-term potential for significant returns on investment.
• Trading and Liquidity: The token is listed on major exchanges such as Gate.io, increasing its accessibility to a broad audience of retail and institutional investors.

These factors make USUAL token an attractive option for users looking for security, transparency, and participation in a decentralized governance model.

Roadmap: The Future of USUAL Token

The USUAL token project has outlined its vision for growth, expansion, and increasing market reach. Some of the future milestones include:

• Cross-Chain Integration: Expanding the capabilities of the USD0 stablecoin and USUAL token into additional blockchain ecosystems beyond Ethereum.
• Partnerships with DeFi platforms: Continued integration with key DeFi platforms to increase liquidity and utility for the $USUAL token.
• Enhanced Token Features: The development of more yield-generating mechanisms and further improvements to USD0 LST as demand for stablecoins grows.
• Decentralized Governance Evolution: Strengthening the governance framework to ensure that $USUAL token holders can influence all significant protocol decisions going forward.

Conclusion: Why the USUAL Token is Important for the Future of DeFi

The USUAL token is positioned to be a major player in the DeFi ecosystem due to its innovative approach to decentralized governance, stablecoin functionality, and the integration of tokenized Real-World Assets (RWAs). Its emphasis on redistribution of wealth and governance ensures that the success of the platform is directly shared with its participants, marking a stark contrast to traditional systems. As $USUAL token adoption grows and the ecosystem develops further, it promises to revolutionize the stablecoin and DeFi landscape, providing greater opportunities for users, developers, and DeFi enthusiasts alike.