What is Usual (USUAL)?

By CMC AI
12 September 2026 08:09PM (UTC+0)
TLDR

USUAL is the governance and rewards token for the Usual Protocol, a decentralized platform that issues stablecoins backed by real-world assets like U.S. Treasuries and European sovereign bonds.

  1. Governance & Revenue Token: USUAL grants holders voting power over the protocol and distributes a significant share of its revenue through buybacks and direct payments.

  2. Stablecoin Ecosystem: The protocol mints USD0 and EUR0, stablecoins fully collateralized by short-term government debt from providers like BlackRock and Ondo Finance (Bitrue).

  3. Staking & Yield: Users can stake USUAL or lock USD0 into derivatives like USD0++ to earn additional yield, aligning long-term participation with protocol growth.

Deep Dive

1. Stablecoin Ecosystem & Real-World Asset Backing

Usual Protocol's core function is issuing permissionless, transparent stablecoins. Its flagship dollar-pegged USD0 is fully collateralized 1:1 by tokenized short-term U.S. Treasury Bills. Similarly, its euro-pegged EUR0 is backed by European sovereign bonds. This real-world asset (RWA) backing aims to provide stability and minimize depegging risk, differentiating it from algorithmic or centrally managed stablecoins.

2. USUAL Token: Governance & Value Distribution

The USUAL token is central to the protocol's decentralized governance and value-sharing model. Holders can vote on key parameters, such as collateral types and fee structures. Uniquely, the protocol is designed to redistribute most of its generated yield back to the community. According to the team, up to 70% of revenue is used for USUAL buybacks, while the remaining 30% is paid weekly to users who lock their tokens, creating a direct link between protocol revenue and tokenholder rewards (Usual).

3. Staking Derivatives & Yield Generation

To incentivize long-term alignment, Usual offers layered staking mechanisms. Users can stake base stablecoins: locking USD0 into USD0++ provides daily USUAL rewards and a basic interest guarantee. Similarly, staking USUAL itself converts it into USUALx, a "productive ownership" layer that unlocks higher governance power and access to revenue sharing, with options to lock for extended periods to maximize yield.

Conclusion

Usual is fundamentally a community-governed stablecoin platform that channels the yield from traditional finance assets directly to its participants. Will its model of transparent RWA backing and direct revenue sharing establish a new standard for decentralized stablecoins?

CMC AI can make mistakes. Not financial advice.