What is Usual (USUAL)?

Quick Facts

• Token type: Governance and revenue-ownership token
• Blockchain: Ethereum (ERC-20)
• Protocol: Usual — a decentralized stablecoin issuer
• Core stablecoin: USD0, backed 1:1 by U.S. Treasury Bills
• Team: Usual Labs, France-based, co-founded by Pierre Person, Adli Takkal Bataille, and Hugo Sallé de Chou
• Backer: Binance Labs
• Staked form: USUALx, unlocking governance power and USD0 revenue share

Introduction

Usual is a decentralized stablecoin protocol that challenges the traditional model where centralized issuers retain all revenue generated by user deposits. Instead of keeping profits at the company level, Usual routes value directly back to its community through the USUAL governance token.

At its core, USUAL is designed to represent real ownership of the protocol — not just symbolic voting rights, but a direct share of the cash flows generated by the ecosystem.

History & Background

Usual Labs, a France-based blockchain development company, built the protocol with the goal of making money a public good. The team includes former French parliament member Pierre Person alongside co-founders Adli Takkal Bataille and Hugo Sallé de Chou.

The protocol launched its flagship stablecoin USD0 in mid-2024, followed by the USUAL governance token in late 2024. Binance Labs provided a $10 million investment, helping accelerate ecosystem growth.

How Usual Works

The protocol is built around three interconnected products:

• USD0 — a USD-pegged stablecoin fully backed by tokenized U.S. Treasury Bills from providers like BlackRock, Ondo, and Hashnote.
• USD0++ — the liquid staking version of USD0, which generates USUAL token rewards when staked.
• USUAL / USUALx — the governance and revenue-sharing layer of the protocol.

Users swap USDC for USD0, then stake USD0 to receive USD0++, which in turn earns USUAL rewards. Staking USUAL converts it to USUALx, unlocking full governance participation and a weekly share of protocol revenue paid in USD0.

Tokenomics

USUAL token issuance is directly tied to the growth of USD0++. Every time USD0++ is minted, a corresponding amount of USUAL is issued — linking token supply expansion to real protocol activity rather than arbitrary inflation.

A key design principle is the 90/10 community split: 90% of all USUAL emissions go to the community, while 10% goes to contributors, investors, and advisors via a special USUAL* mechanism. Emissions are designed to remain below protocol revenue growth, preventing excessive dilution.

Governance votes can adjust emission rates, fee parameters, and collateral composition — giving token holders meaningful economic control.

Ecosystem & Use Cases

• Revenue ownership: USUAL holders effectively own a claim on 100% of protocol revenue.
• Governance: Holders vote on collateral types, risk parameters, treasury allocation, and new asset onboarding.
• Staking: Staking USUAL for USUALx activates governance rights and earns USD0 yield.
• DeFi collateral: USD0 is composable and permissionless, usable across DeFi platforms for trading and collateral.

Team, Governance & Community

Usual Labs leads core development, while governance progressively shifts toward USUAL token holders through on-chain voting. Holders influence collateral governance, emission rates, treasury deployment, and fee structures — making governance economically meaningful rather than ceremonial.

The community gathers on Discord, Telegram, and Twitter under the handle @usualmoney.

Advantages

• Real revenue backing: USUAL is tied to actual cash flows from U.S. Treasury-backed collateral.
• Community-first distribution: 90% of token emissions flow to community participants.
• Transparent reserves: USD0 collateral is verifiable on-chain in real time.
• Composable ecosystem: USD0 integrates natively across DeFi protocols.
• Regulated-grade collateral: Backing by U.S. Treasury Bills reduces counterparty risk compared to bank-backed stablecoins.

Risks & Challenges

• RWA integration complexity: Tokenizing and managing real-world assets introduces legal and operational risks.
• Regulatory uncertainty: Stablecoin regulation continues to evolve globally, which may affect USD0's operations.
• Smart contract risk: As with all DeFi protocols, bugs or exploits remain a potential vulnerability.
• Emission sell pressure: USUAL rewards can create downward price pressure if holders sell rather than stake.
• Collateral concentration: Reliance on a limited set of Treasury Bill providers introduces counterparty dependency.

Long-Term Vision

Usual's long-term goal is to establish a model where stablecoin users are also owners of the infrastructure they rely on. By routing protocol revenue back to the community and anchoring value to real-world yield, Usual aims to position USUAL as a benchmark for sustainable, cash-flow-backed DeFi governance tokens.

The protocol plans to expand its product suite — including EUR0 and ETH0 — broadening its reach beyond USD-pegged assets and growing its on-chain treasury over time.