Title Image Credit: @StakeWithPride
Mehen, a grassroots Cardano project, has officially launched $USDM late on Saturday March 16th! $USDM is a new stablecoin that promises transparency, security, and versatility. Mehen took up the torch to fill the gap for a stablecoin on the Cardano Blockchain.
Initially, minting of $USDM will be limited to institutional investors, but in the coming days to weeks it’s expected that retail investors will be able to mint.
This development represents a significant milestone for the Cardano ecosystem—and potentially for other bridging blockchain networks as well. Until now, the ecosystem has been limited to either algorithmic collateral-backed stablecoins, such as Djed, or Synthetic collateral-backed stablecoins like Indigo.
Currently USDC and USDT are not in the Cardano Ecosystem and have market capitalizations bigger than Cardano [Ref: CoinGecko.com]. The introduction of $USDM is a timely move towards establishing homegrown, capital-efficient stablecoins within the Cardano DeFi space. This is a big deal.
KYC Minting
USDM has been approved for minting in select U.S. States, adhering to a State-by-State regulatory approach, akin to that of USDC.
How USDM works is, the primary reserves from Western and Fidelity report their reserve holdings to the Charlie3 Oracle, which in turn conveys this data to the on-chain token minting process. In practice, when the banks commence operations on the next business day, the updated reserve information is transmitted. This is how the 1:1 Cardano native token total supply is maintained in simple terms.
Fees
The fees for Minting are 0% (USD –> USDM), and for Burning are 1.5% (USDM –> USD). Burning is basically going from the on-chain token back to the fiat world and getting US Dollars back in your bank account. The minimum burn fee will be $50, and maximum fee will be $5000. This structure should enable minting growth early on with the minting no fees.
Licensing
Mehen’s licensing is comprehensive and robust — they are the real deal. Mehen is registered with FinCEN, in the British Virgin Islands, and actively seeking appropriate licensing in the US and the British Islands, as outlined in their licensing details. These measures ensure compliance with US regulations while also facilitating potential global expansion.
Non-KYC Cardano DEXs
Don’t worry if you are not in the US, the specific States, or do not want to KYC. It’s crypto after all.
Cardano DeFi will be well taken care of thru our Native DEXs. It looks like there’s significant Cardano DEX Ecosystem liquidity bootstrapping support which is great to see! Minswap will provide a USDM/ADA Liquidity Pool (LP) and put forward a DAO vote to even mint USDM directly.
Here Genius Yield will support a USDM/ADA liquidity pool too and use their smart market making tools to enhance liquidity and trading. There’s sure to be more.
What kind of Stablecoin is USDM Again? And what makes it special?
What sets USDM apart is its one-to-one backing by the US Dollar, meaning each USDM is supported by an equivalent USD in reserves, which makes it capital efficient. Additionally, it is minted as a Cardano Native Token, granting it all the “1st Class Benefits” benefits of the native ADA token, like the low transaction fees and UTxO model security.
USDM tokens are minted and burned as the Fiat Reserves grows or shrinks, fed from the Charlie3 Oracle (oracles bring real world data on-chain, typical for smart contracts, etc). The reserves will also be periodically audited.
Also unique, the tokens are legally enforceable for redemption to a dollar which comes from being compliant with US Regulations (Off-chain legal enforcement).
The Mehen Team also has a unique background with a combination of TradFi knowledge and Cardano-centric ecosystem needs, notably Matt Plomin the Founder and President.
Congratulations from the Cardano Ecosystem
Congrats to the entire Mehen team, especially in the headwinds of the very real US Operation Chokepoint 2.0. We are looking forward to USDM spooling up and growing. Here’s to an exponential growth for a stable future.
For questions, visit Mehen’s FAQ or jump in their socials, they are very active and welcoming.
Food for thought
Just think, now at dinner time to split the bill, no more Venmo, you can use $USDM now. Cheers.
Edits:
– Updated Licensing details “actively seeking appropriate licensing in the US and the British Islands” was “and licensed in both the US and the Cayman Islands”.
