Every USD0 is backed by real assets. That is the core promise of Usual as a DeFi bank. This article shows exactly what sits behind your balance and why it matters.
100% real assets. No bank deposits.
Most stablecoins hold their reserves in a mix of bank deposits, Treasury Bills, and commercial paper. USD0 is different: every USD0 is backed by tokenized US Treasury Bills or equivalent instruments held by institutional providers.
What that means for you:
If a commercial bank fails, your USD0 balance is not affected. There are no bank deposits in the reserves.
If a stablecoin issuer goes bankrupt, you still have a direct claim on the underlying Treasury Bills via the redemption mechanism.
You can verify the reserves at any time, not once a month.
Who holds your real assets
USD0 aggregates tokenized Treasury Bills from several institutional providers:
Token | Provider | Underlying |
USYC | Hashnote | Short-term US Treasury Bills and repo |
USTBL | Spiko | Short-term US Treasury Bills |
UsualM | M0 Foundation | Tokenized cash equivalents |
Each provider is regulated and audited. The tokenized Treasury Bills are held in segregated accounts. The composition of the reserves is verifiable directly on-chain.
Why this matters
In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank collapsed. USDC briefly lost its peg because part of its reserves were held at the failed bank. USD0 is structurally immune to that specific risk: its reserves are not commercial bank deposits.
This does not mean USD0 has zero risk. Treasury Bills carry their own risks, and the tokenization layer adds smart contract risk. But the risk profile is fundamentally different from a stablecoin that relies on bank balances.
The risks to watch
Risk | What it means |
Treasury Bill market risk | Very low. US T-Bills are among the safest assets in the world. |
Tokenization risk | Providers must correctly mint and redeem their tokens against the underlying T-Bills. |
Smart contract risk | The Usual contracts must work correctly. 20+ audits have been performed. |
Counterparty risk on providers | If a single provider fails, the tokenized assets at that provider could be impacted. Usual mitigates this by diversifying across multiple providers. |
See the Risks & Security collection for the full risk framework.
Where to verify the reserves
You can see the current composition of USD0 reserves at any time:
In the app — a real-time breakdown on the USD0 page
Directly on-chain — the balance of each collateral token held by the DaoCollateral contract is public
In the docs — docs.usual.money lists every provider and the latest composition
Note: The providers and their portfolio weights can change over time through governance. If the DAO approves a new provider, it is added. If a provider is removed, the collateral is gradually unwound. All changes go through UIPs (Usual Improvement Proposals).
Technical note (for DeFi users): The collateral tokens are held by the DaoCollateral contract on Ethereum mainnet. Current providers include Hashnote (USYC), Spiko (USTBL, EUTBL for EUR0), M0 Foundation (UsualM), and Lido (wstETH for ETH0). The Multi Collateral Controller manages the optimal portfolio weights and adjusts collateral provision rewards to maintain balance. See the docs for the live composition feed.
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