Usual Partners M^0, Adopts $M for Reserves
M^0, the decentralized stablecoin infrastructure layer, has announced a partnership with Usual, a fiat-backed stablecoin issuer, to introduce UsualM, an extension of M^0’s U.S. Treasury-backed stablecoin $M, introducing features such as permissioned unwrapping, blacklisting, and pausing capabilities, the company said on Thursday.
The introduction of UsualM, with its additional functionality, ensures robust security and compliance while maintaining the 1:1 exchange rate synonymous with $M, M^0’s core stablecoin. By incorporating M^0’s infrastructure, Usual gains access to its transparent and interoperable attributes, strengthening its position in the market and diversifying its collateral reserves, the company said.
This announcement comes a day after Usual said it would begin diversifying its reserves to include Ethena’s new USDtb stablecoin, which is backed by BlackRock’s BUIDL money market fund.
1/ M^0 has collaborated with @usualmoney to facilitate the use of M^0 as an alternative collateral structure for Usual products.
— M^0 (@m0foundation) December 19, 2024
By integrating M^0’s infrastructure, Usual benefits from its unique infrastructure attributes, including transparency and interoperability. pic.twitter.com/t2w3J16OCa
“Extending $M into UsualM to support $USD0 marks a pivotal step in advancing our vision for stablecoins,” said Pierre Person, CEO of Usual. “With UsualM, we’re not just introducing another stablecoin—we’re redefining how digital dollars can generate meaningful value and impact.”
The launch of UsualM arrives amid growing interest in modular stablecoin frameworks, which offer tailored solutions for diverse financial applications. Usual recently reached a market cap of $1 billion, becoming the seventh-largest stablecoin, and continues to see significant adoption, with its $USUAL token’s total value locked (TVL) surpassing $844 million. This reflects the increasing demand for equitable and innovative stablecoin solutions.
M^0’s $35 million fundraising earlier this year further solidified its position as a foundational layer for decentralized finance. By facilitating partnerships like UsualM, M^0 is enabling a new era of programmable, interoperable stablecoins that cater to the needs of digital dollar innovators.
Earlier this month, M^0 announced a partnership with Noble, an asset issuance chain in the Cosmos ecosystem, to launch the Noble Dollar ($USDN) – a dollar stablecoin that programmatically directs yield to distribution partners onchain.
Blockhead recently spoke to M^0 founder Luca Prosperi in a recent episode of Blockcast, about how the company is gearing up to be an infrastructure layer that goes beyond wrapping real-world bank deposits or assets as a cryptographic token.