Usual is a stablecoin protocol that has introduced USD, a permissionless and fully compliant stablecoin backed 1:1 by real-world assets (RWA). USUAL is a governance token that allows the community to guide the future development of the network. Usual addresses current stablecoin market issues by redistributing profits to the community and rewarding token holders with actual returns generated by RWAs.
Usual Team
Pierre PERSON is the founder and CEO of Usual. He is a former French politician and a member of the National Assembly (French Parliament). He recently served as the Vice President of the French President's party, leading the country's crypto asset legislation.
Hugo Sallé de Chou is the co-founder and COO of Usual, graduating from EDHEC Business School in France.
Andrew Lafortezza is the Head of Sales at Usual, previously serving as the Head of Partnerships at Perpetual Protocol. He graduated from the University of Richmond.
Adli Takkal Bataille is a co-founder of Usual and also serves as the President of the Le Cercle du Coin association. He graduated from Montesquieu University of Bordeaux.
Allan Floury is the VP of Product at Usual, graduating from Columbia University in the United States.
Usual Financing
On April 17, 2024, Usual completed a $7 million financing round with participation from IOSG Ventures*, Kraken Ventures*, GSR, StarkWare, Flowdesk, Hypersphere Ventures, Bing Ventures, Mantle Network, Public Works, Kima Ventures, AVID3, Breed VC, Psalion VC, X Ventures, LBank Labs, Georgios Vlachos, Polynya, Arthur Cheong, Mr. Block, Bryan Pellegrino, Liu Feng, Spencer Noon, Rand Hindi, Jordi Alexander, Pan Zhiyong, Lito Coen, DeFi Dad, Ivangbi, DCF GOD, Jacek Czarnecki, Clement Lesaege, Nicolas Bacca, Jason Ma, Christopher Grilhault des Fontaines, Th0rgal, Leo Simon, Mmm, C2tP, Winthorpe, SalsaTekila, Alexis Masseron, Ramzi Laieb, Sebastien Couture, Clarisse Hagège, Florian Le Goff, High Stakes Capital, @0xSalazar, Mister Anderson, @degenbing, Jocelyn Grosjean, Réda Berrehili, Primony, Kalpha DAO, Pleb Capital, Sylvain Kalache. After this round of financing, the valuation of the Usual project reached $50 million!
On November 6, 2024, Usual completed a $1.5 million community round financing with participation from Jed Breed, Comfy Capital, and Breed Syndicate.
On December 23, 2024, Usual completed a $10 million Series A financing round with participation from YZi Labs*, Kraken Ventures*, Galaxy Digital, OKX Ventures, IOSG Ventures, Wintermute, Amber Group, GSR, Hypersphere Ventures, M^0, Symbolic Capital, Krypital Group, Fasanara Capital, Psalion VC, AVID3, FunFair Ventures, LeadBlock Partners, White Loop Capital, JPEG Trading, Guy Young, Phaedrus.
Features of Usual
Centralization and Transparency: One of the core features of the USUAL token is centralization. Unlike traditional centralized stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC), the issuance and governance of the USUAL token are entirely controlled by smart contracts and the community, without manipulation by a single entity or institution. This decentralized design makes the issuance and operation of stablecoins more transparent, allowing users to clearly understand the issuance and collateralization of stablecoins.
Link to Real-World Assets: The USUAL token links to a growing pool of tokenized real-world assets (RWA) from entities such as BlackRock, Ondo, and Mountain Protocol, transforming them into permissioned, on-chain verifiable, and composable USD0 tokens. This link to stable real-world assets makes the value of USD0 more stable and also provides users with a new means of asset preservation and appreciation.
Yield and Growth Potential: Another significant feature of the USUAL token is its yield and growth potential. Users can deposit yield-generating assets (such as USYC) into the Usual protocol to earn speculative returns tied to the protocol's success. This yield aims to exceed the risk-free return of the underlying assets, providing users with an additional source of income. At the same time, as the protocol continues to develop, users can also share in the value appreciation brought about by the protocol's growth.
Promoting the Development of Decentralized Finance (DeFi): As a decentralized stablecoin, the USUAL token provides the necessary liquidity for DeFi applications. Users can use USD0 as a means of payment, counterparty, and collateral token to conduct various financial operations within the DeFi ecosystem. Liquidity support helps drive innovation and development in DeFi applications, providing investors with more investment opportunities and sources of return.
Usual Token Economics
$USUAL brings new innovations in token economics:
It represents 100% ownership of the protocol's revenue.
Holders have governance rights over the treasury and protocol decisions.
Holders can also share in the future growth dividends of the protocol.
Unlike utility tokens with low circulation and high fully diluted valuation (FDV), Usual's token economics focus more on community distribution:
90% of $USUAL will be distributed to the community, including users, liquidity providers, and contributors.
Only 10% is allocated to insiders (team and investors).
$USUAL holders will control major decisions of the treasury and protocol.
The issuance mechanism of $USUAL is dynamic, directly linked to the protocol's actual revenue.
New $USUAL is minted and distributed daily based on the protocol's revenue.
As the total value locked (TVL) of USD0++ grows, the issuance speed of $USUAL will gradually slow down.
Summary of Usual
The Usual protocol attempts to address pain points in the stablecoin market through innovative mechanisms and has strong investor support. However, its price volatility also signals potential risks. Investors need to pay attention to project progress, market dynamics, and token unlocking plans to make wiser investment decisions.
