New stablecoin market: MetaMask launches mUSD, reducing the issuance cycle to a few weeks

Roundup: Felix, PANews

Last week, a governance proposal outlining MetaMask's stablecoin mUSD was removed after a brief launch, sparking speculation in the market about mUSD's development. Currently, the launch of the stablecoin has been confirmed.

MetaMask, a crypto wallet developed by Consensys, announced on August 21 that it will launch its native US dollar stablecoin, MetaMask USD ($mUSD), marking the first time a self-custodial wallet has launched an autonomous stablecoin. mUSD is expected to be released later this year, when it will first launch on Ethereum and Linea.

Built on Bridge and M 0, it will be connected to Mastercard by the end of the year

mUSD is built by Bridge, a stablecoin issuer owned by Stripe, and powered by M 0's decentralized infrastructure.

Bridge is a stablecoin orchestration and issuance platform owned by Stripe, providing compliant licensing, monitoring, and strict reserve management for custom-issued stablecoins. The underlying Bridge leverages the M 0 protocol to mint $mUSD, which provides a decentralized and scalable stablecoin infrastructure platform built for interoperability, composability, and transparency.

According to MetaMask, mUSD will be fully backed by "high-quality, highly liquid dollar equivalents" at a 1:1 ratio, including U.S. cash and short-term U.S. Treasuries, with real-time transparency and cross-chain composability. mUSD is scheduled to launch on Ethereum and Consensys' Linea network later this year, with deep integration with Linea's DeFi stack, gradually covering lending markets, DEXs, and custody platforms, thereby promoting liquidity and reducing user onboarding resistance.

mUSD will be used in two main ways:

in the wallet at launch: for seamless deposits, exchanges, transfers, and cross-chain bridging.
Expected in real life by the end of the year: Allowing users to use mUSD at millions of merchants accepting Mastercard via MetaMask card.

Regarding whether to offer mUSD deposit rewards to customers, Ajay Mittal, Vice President of Product Strategy at MetaMask, emphasized, "Currently, mUSD does not provide yield directly to users. However, mUSD may play a role in MetaMask's future incentive programs. "

The exact release date or planned release scale has not been officially disclosed, but more technical details and user guides will be released in the coming weeks.

The development cycle has been shortened to a few weeks, and the stablecoin has ushered in a period of rapid expansion

The release of mUSD comes at a time when the monthly on-chain trading volume of stablecoins has exceeded nearly $1 trillion, and it is also the time when the GENIUS Act in the United States is passed.

Previously, Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller delivered a speech in support of cryptocurrencies, highlighting the role of stablecoins, noting their potential to maintain and expand the dollar's position internationally. Meanwhile, Wyoming officially launched the Frontier Stable Token (FRNT), becoming the first state in the United States to issue its own stablecoin.

As the digital dollar market flourishes and regulatory transparency increases, the concept of applied stablecoins is also gaining traction. Payment apps, crypto wallets, or DeFi protocols can also launch their own stablecoins while outsourcing compliance, reserves, and infrastructure to providers.

For example, Paxos issued PayPal's PYUSD token, while BitGo backed USD 1 from World Liberty Financial, a Trump-linked DeFi protocol. Earlier this month, US fintech company Slash partnered with Bridge to launch its own stablecoin.

MetaMask's stablecoin is the first case of a collaboration between M 0 and Bridge, which allows MetaMask to provide its users with a built-in digital dollar without having to manage complex issuance, compliance, and technical processes.

Bridge co-founder and CEO Zach Abrams said they reduced the development time for custom stablecoin issuance from "more than a year of complex integration" to "weeks." This means that apps like Metamask "can realize earnings faster and more efficiently than ever before."

Through this partnership, M 0 and Bridge are looking to replicate the development of the MetaMask token to more issuers.

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