TrueUSD is a stablecoin that pegs the value of USD on a one-to-one basis. For every TUSD that is purchased, there will be a corresponding U.S. dollar held in reserve.
Like Tether, TrueUSD was created to provide a stable asset within the cryptocurrency space, acting as a monetary "safe house" to weather any volatility the market might experience. Where the two coins differ is in their approach to transparency and their overall market cap.
In 2017, Tether's reputation came under fire as its market cap continued to surge, with many questioning if the project actually had the huge volumes of reserves it claimed to have. Doubts continued to surface as Tether appeared to show reluctance to having its assets audited.
In response to investors' concerns about the reserves Tether held, other stablecoins popped up to offer an alternative — one of those being TrueUSD, which capitalized on the element of trust.
TrueUSD positioned itself in the market as a stablecoin issuer that could be trusted and that was open and transparent. The project highlights the fact that it is "the first regulated stablecoin fully backed by the U.S. dollar."
In order to prove that this is the case, monthly independent audits were initially carried out by the accounting firm Cohen & Company. The goal of these reports was to verify that TrustToken, the parent company of TrueUSD, holds enough cash in escrow to cover the amount of TUSD stablecoins in circulation.
March 2020 saw the monthly reports by Cohen & Company replaced by TrustExplorer, a platform that enables users to generate independent accountant reports on TrueUSD in real time — delivering up-to-the-minute information on the number of tokens in circulation and how much collateral is held in trust accounts.
The company claims that the real-time proof of funds in escrow means that anyone can redeem 1 TUSD for $1 at any point — and whereas a large sale of BTC could cause that cryptocurrency's price to fall, a bulk sell-off of TrueUSD shouldn't affect the value of those that remain in circulation.
TrustToken has also gone one step further and registered with government regulators as a money service provider with the U.S. Department of Treasury. This means that users have to complete an identity process, including anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer checks.
TUSD price and tokenomics
TUSD's price is designed to stay as close to the U.S. dollar as possible, but slight fluctuations do occur with every stablecoin. In the 12 months to June 1, 2021, its lowest price stood at $0.9786, while the highest was $1.06.
The dollars that TrueUSD holds are distributed across a few trusted banks, and the stablecoin issuer does not have access to this money — acting as a safeguard against price manipulation of any form.
TUSD has been built to be compatible with Ethereum as an ERC-20 token and with Binance Smart Chain as a BEP-2 token (known as TUSDB). Both tokens act in the exact same way, bringing more liquidity to the crypto markets.
About the founders
TrustToken is the parent company of TrueUSD.
The co-founder and CEO of TrustToken is Rafael Cosman. He studied computer science at Stanford University with a focus on artificial intelligence and cryptography. He went on to land jobs at both Palantir and Google Brain, where he was a machine-learning engineer.
After working in tech for several years, Cosman utilized his experience and contacts to create TrustToken. Through his new venture, Cosman wants to create a bridge between the $256 trillion world of tangible assets and blockchain technology.
Jai An was previously the CEO of TrustToken and also the co-founder, until a majority vote by shareholders of the company removed him from his position and terminated his employment. Before joining TrustToken, Jai An worked at PwC as a product manager and analytics innovation accelerator, and also as a data scientist at Kernel.
