MetaMask mUSD stablecoin goes live, offering fiat on-ramp

MetaMask’s native stablecoin mUSD is live, after the initial announcement at the end of August. The asset may serve as a fiat on-ramp for one of the most widely used browser wallets. 

MetaMask announced its native stablecoin mUSD is live, after announcing the new asset at the end of August. As Cryptopolitan reported earlier, MetaMask aims to enter the $280B growing stablecoin market in partnership with Stripe. 

MetaMask’s mUSD is the first token to be issued by a self-custodial browser wallet. The asset will be fully integrated into the MetaMask ecosystem of apps, and work for swaps, on-ramps, and bridging. 

MetaMask to launch mUSD on Ethereum, Linea

The token also launched on Linea, one of the hottest new chains following the recent TGE and airdrop. The token will initially launch on Ethereum and Linea and will become a part of the Linea DeFi.

The MetaMask stablecoin follows the recent rush to create new compliant assets, based on the requirements in the US Genius Act. The stablecoin aims to tap the most active sources of liquidity in the US market.

The token will be launched by Bridge, the Stripe company for stablecoin issuance and infrastructure. It will compete with USDT and USDC, currently Ethereum’s busiest apps. The token will launch with an initial supply of around $18M. The new addition is relatively small, as the supply of stablecoins grows relentlessly to over $284.8B. 

Liquidity through mUSD to receive higher rewards

Immediately after the launch, mUSD started a program to become the go-to stablecoin on Linea. Currently, Linea can rely on bridged USDT and USDC, with over $304 in total supply. 

After the launch, mUSD will aim to displace that liquidity by offering bigger incentives through yield. USDT will only receive 0.1 LINEA for each $1 in liquidity, while LINEA and ETH pools will have a higher yield. 

The mUSD pools against USDT, USDC, ETH, and LINEA will start receiving rewards from September 15. For the first epoch, stablecoin pools will be assigned 2.8M LINEA, the ETH pool will receive 5.6M LINEA, and the mUSD/LINEA pair will also have 2.8M tokens set aside for incentives. 

MetaMask’s mUSD token will initially become active on the Etherex exchange, a newly launched DEX. Etherex launched in August and accrued around $180M in liquidity. The DEX carries some of the latest tokens on Ethereum, reaching $2.48B in monthly volumes. 

The DEX aims for up to $54M in annualized fees, potentially sharing them with mUSD holders as incentives and LP rewards. 

Currently, mUSD is still not distributed, with 40% of the supply held in a cluster of three wallets. On its first day of trading, mUSD achieved around $20M in volumes. Etherex is yet to gain traction on MetaMask, as Uniswap is still the leading DEX. 

The MetaMask wallet still aggregates over 85K active users for swaps, producing between $300K and $500K for fees. MetaMask swaps are relatively expensive, and mUSD aims to decrease costs and boost liquidity.

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