Usual Explained: The Complete Guide

What is Usual?

Usual (Usual is a DeFi protocol on Ethereum issuing USD0, a stablecoin fully backed 1:1 by real-world assets, that redistributes the Treasury yield to users via bUSD0 and the USUAL token instead of keeping it for an issuer) is a DeFi protocol on Ethereum issuing USD0, a stablecoin fully backed 1:1 by real-world assets (US Treasury bills via USYC, BUIDL, and M tokens). Its pitch is redistribution: the yield those Treasuries generate is channelled to users through bUSD0 (a locked, bond-like token, formerly USD0++) and the USUAL governance token — rather than kept by an issuer like Circle. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

With USDC, Circle holds the reserves and keeps the Treasury yield. Usual flips that: USD0 is fully backed 1:1 by short-term Treasuries, structured bankruptcy-remote, and the yield is redistributed to users. The protocol targets returning the bulk of value to its community via bUSD0 (Alpha Yield in USUAL) and USUALx (Revenue Switch in USD0). It sits in the wave of "revenue-backed" RWA stablecoins arguing the yield on stablecoin reserves should belong to holders, not the issuer.

The numbers as of May 2026: USD0 has ~$562M in circulating supply, protocol TVL sits at ~$102M — a sharp fall from the ~$1.87B peak in January 2025, largely because of the bUSD0 depeg episode and USUAL's ~99% price decline from its $1.61 ATH.

The Usual short answer

1. Three tokens, three jobs. USD0 = the redeemable dollar; bUSD0 = locked bond (earns USUAL); USUAL = revenue/governance.
2. The pitch is redistribution. RWA Treasury yield goes to users via Revenue Switch and Alpha Yield, not an issuer.
3. bUSD0 is a bond, not cash. Locked until June 11, 2028, with a floor-price early exit and a new rt-bUSD0 redemption token — NOT 1:1 redeemable at will.
4. Yield is paid in USUAL ("Alpha Yield"). USUAL sits at ~$0.013, down ~99% from its $1.61 ATH. Realized dollar yield for 2025 lockers has been poor.
5. The January 2025 depeg is the lesson. USD0++ (now bUSD0) dropped to $0.89 after Usual changed redemption mechanics — and TVL fell from ~$1.87B to well below $400M.

🔴 Live: Incentives & Protocol State

Last updated 2026-05-27 — we refresh this section as campaigns change. Confirm live mechanics in the Usual docs.

USUAL is live. The active opportunities are: holding USD0 for RWA-backed yield via the Revenue Switch (USUALx), locking USD0 into bUSD0 for Alpha Yield in USUAL, and staking USUAL as USUALx to earn weekly USD0 revenue shares.

Current state (May 2026)

• USD0 supply: ~$562M circulating (down from ~$1.67B peak in early 2025). USD0 holds its $1 peg tightly.
• TVL: ~$102M (DefiLlama, May 2026) — down from ~$1.87B peak in January 2025.
• bUSD0 (formerly USD0++): Trades around $0.963, reflecting its bond discount to par. Total supply ~527M tokens. Maturity June 11, 2028. ATL was $0.8933 (January 19, 2025) following the depeg.
• USUAL: ~$0.013 (~$24M market cap, ~1.79B circulating, max 3B). ATH was $1.61 (December 20, 2024). Down ~99.2% from ATH.
• Revenue Switch (USUALx): Live since January 13, 2025. USUALx stakers receive up to 100% of protocol revenue weekly in USD0. Lock & Boost: commit for 1/3/6/12 months for up to an 8x multiplier. Three revenue streams: weekly USD0 payouts, 10% of USUAL emissions, and 33.33% of USUAL-denominated protocol fees.
• Annualized protocol fees: ~$3.78M; annualized revenue ~$3.47M; cumulative fees ~$74M.
• New products: EUR0 (euro stablecoin backed by Eurozone T-Bills, launched Q4 2025), ETH0 (synthetic ETH backed by wstETH), UZR (zero-rate credit against USD0), USD0a (delta-neutral yield product).
• May 27, 2026 vault exploit: A $43K arbitrage exploit hit a bUSD0 investment vault. The core protocol was unaffected; no user funds were lost. The affected vault contract was paused.

How to participate, step by step

1. Hold USD0 for a stable, RWA-backed, redeemable dollar.
2. Lock into bUSD0 for Alpha Yield (in USUAL) — only if you can hold toward June 2028 and accept the floor-price exit and rt-bUSD0 mechanics.
3. Stake USUAL as USUALx for weekly USD0 revenue distributions; use Lock & Boost for higher multipliers.
4. Track USUAL's price — your bUSD0 yield is denominated in it.

Caveat: Alpha Yield is paid in USUAL, a token down ~99% from its ATH. bUSD0 is locked until June 2028 (early exit hits a floor price or forfeits rewards). The January 2025 depeg showed these mechanics can move markets hard. Read carefully before locking.

For stablecoin context, see our best stablecoins and best real-world assets (RWA) guides.

How Usual works

USD0 is a 1:1 RWA-backed stablecoin; locking it into bUSD0 earns Alpha Yield in USUAL; and USUAL captures protocol revenue, distributed to stakers via the Revenue Switch. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

The model is a redistribution machine. USD0's Treasury backing generates real yield; instead of an issuer pocketing it, Usual channels it to users who lock into bUSD0 (earning USUAL via Alpha Yield) and to USUAL stakers who receive weekly USD0 payouts via the Revenue Switch. The catch: the user-facing yield is denominated in USUAL, a token whose price has fallen ~99% from its peak. Your realized return depends on USUAL, not just the underlying Treasury rate.

USD0 collateral composition

USD0 is backed by a basket of tokenized RWAs managed through a Multi Collateral Controller:

• USYC — Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund (reverse REPO + US Treasuries)
• BUIDL — BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund
• M — M by M0 (US T-bill backed)
• Other approved short-term RWA tokens

All collateral is on-chain and bankruptcy-remote from the Usual entity.

The January 2025 bUSD0 depeg: the cautionary tale

On January 9–10, 2025, Usual changed bUSD0 (then USD0++) early-redemption mechanics — introducing a $0.87 unconditional floor price and a conditional 1:1 exit requiring reward forfeiture — USD0++ dropped to $0.89, TVL collapsed from ~$1.87B to below $400M, and USUAL cratered from its ATH. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

This episode is essential context. Most holders had treated USD0++ as freely redeemable at $1 — effectively a higher-yield stablecoin. On January 9, 2025, the price began falling as markets anticipated a mechanics change. On January 10, Usual formally announced the new structure:

• Unconditional exit: redeem bUSD0 at a floor price of $0.87 (rising toward $1 at June 2028 maturity), no reward penalty.
• Conditional exit: redeem at 1:1, but forfeit all accrued USUAL rewards.

USD0++ dropped to a low of $0.89 before partially recovering toward $0.92. Curve pools holding USD0++ became severely imbalanced. Pendle positions saw forced liquidations. The community was vocal that the change — which some called a "unilateral breach of contract" — had been implemented without adequate warning.

TVL fell from ~$1.87B (January 2025 peak) to well below $400M. USUAL dropped from its $1.61 December 2024 ATH toward the single-digit cents it sits at today ($0.013 in May 2026). bUSD0's all-time low was $0.8933 on January 19, 2025 — just above the floor price.

Usual's response included activating the Revenue Switch (January 13, 2025) — redirecting protocol revenue to USUALx stakers as a stabilizing measure — and introducing the rt-bUSD0 redemption token (via UIP-12) to give holders a cleaner mechanical exit.

The takeaway: bUSD0 is a discounted bond, not par-redeemable cash. It targets full value at maturity (June 2028) but trades at a discount if you exit early. The floor price is now set at $0.87 and mechanically rises to $1 at maturity. If you lock into bUSD0, you are buying a discounted bond.

Worked example: bUSD0 and the early-exit cost

Locking into bUSD0 earns Alpha Yield in USUAL, but exiting before June 2028 means taking the floor price and burning rt-bUSD0 — the numbers show why it is a bond, not cash. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

Suppose you lock $10,000 of USD0 into bUSD0:

• Hold to maturity (June 11, 2028): bUSD0 converts 1:1 to USD0. You have collected Alpha Yield in USUAL the whole time. If USUAL held its value, your total return is attractive; if USUAL fell (as it has, ~99% from ATH), your realized yield is far below the headline rate.
• Unconditional early exit: you don't get $10,000 back at par. You get the floor price (currently ~$0.87 → ~$8,700), and you burn your rt-bUSD0 redemption token to unlock. That ~$1,300 discount is the cost of breaking the term commitment. bUSD0 currently trades at ~$0.963, so secondary-market exit would net more than the floor — but less than par.
• Conditional early exit (1:1): you get $10,000 in USD0 but forfeit all accrued USUAL rewards. If you have earned significant USUAL, this may cost more than the floor-price path.
• The mental model: bUSD0 is a ~2-year bond (from today's vantage) paying a token coupon. The coupon's dollar value fluctuates with USUAL. Buy it if you intend to hold to maturity; avoid it if you might need par liquidity.

This asymmetry — tolerable if held, costly if you exit — is what the 2025 depeg exposed.

USD0, bUSD0, and USUAL

USD0 is the redeemable dollar; bUSD0 is the locked, bond-like version paying USUAL; and USUAL (staked as USUALx) is the revenue-sharing governance token at the center of the value redistribution. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

• USD0 — hold for a stable, fully-RWA-backed, redeemable dollar; targets $1; ~$562M circulating; does not pay yield on its own.
• bUSD0 — lock USD0 (until June 11, 2028) to earn Alpha Yield in USUAL; trades ~$0.963; early unconditional exit hits the floor price and burns rt-bUSD0; conditional 1:1 exit forfeits USUAL rewards.
• USUAL / USUALx — governance and revenue-sharing token; stake as USUALx to receive weekly USD0 via the Revenue Switch (live since January 13, 2025); Lock & Boost for up to 8x multiplier.
• rt-bUSD0 — companion redemption token minted alongside new bUSD0; burn it together with bUSD0 to exit early at 1:1 (conditional, no USUAL forfeiture path); legacy USD0++ holders do not have rt-bUSD0.

The recurring confusion is the multi-token structure and the lock. Holding USD0 expecting yield (it has none standalone), or locking bUSD0 without grasping the maturity date, the floor price, the rt-bUSD0 requirement, and USUAL's volatility — all are mistakes to avoid.

USD0 vs other dollars

USD0 is a fully-RWA-backed dollar that redistributes Treasury yield to users; USDC keeps the yield; USDe is a hedged synthetic dollar; USDS is over-collateralized with a governance savings rate. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

USD0's distinguishing pitch is who captures the yield (users, not the issuer) and a clean 1:1 RWA backing. Its distinguishing risk is the bUSD0 lock and the USUAL-denominated yield — a more complex bargain than a simple savings token like sUSDS. See best stablecoins for the full field.

How to earn with Usual

Hold USD0 for a stable dollar, lock bUSD0 for Alpha Yield in USUAL (a term commitment), stake USUAL as USUALx for weekly USD0 revenue shares, and track USUAL's price and the lock mechanics. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

1. Get USD0 for a stable RWA-backed redeemable dollar.
2. Lock into bUSD0 for Alpha Yield (USUAL) — only if you can hold toward June 2028; mind the floor price ($0.87 unconditional) and the rt-bUSD0 mechanics.
3. Stake USUAL as USUALx to earn weekly USD0 from the Revenue Switch; optionally commit for 1/3/6/12 months (up to 8x multiplier).
4. Understand exit mechanics (unconditional bUSD0 exit hits the floor price and burns rt-bUSD0; conditional 1:1 exit forfeits USUAL rewards).

For comparison, see our best stablecoins and Ethena guide (another novel-dollar model).

Risks and what to avoid

USD0's RWA backing is conservative, but the system carries bUSD0 lock/floor risk (a January 2025 depeg episode), reward-token volatility (Alpha Yield in USUAL down ~99% from ATH), RWA/custody and regulatory risk, governance risk, and smart-contract risk. Last verified: 2026-05-27.

• Lock and floor-price risk. bUSD0 is locked until June 2028; unconditional early exit is at a floor price (~$0.87 when set, converging to $1) and burns rt-bUSD0; conditional 1:1 exit forfeits all accrued USUAL. The January 2025 depeg (bUSD0 hit $0.8933 ATL) showed these mechanics can stress markets hard.
• Reward-token volatility. Alpha Yield is paid in USUAL — down ~99.2% from its December 2024 ATH of $1.61. If you locked bUSD0 near the peak expecting that implied APY, your realized dollar yield is far lower.
• RWA/custody and regulatory risk. USD0 is backed by off-chain Treasuries (USYC, BUIDL, M). Counterparty and regulatory changes are real exposure.
• Governance/communication risk. The January 2025 depeg was partly a governance decision — Usual changed the deal. Token holders govern the protocol, and future changes can reshape the mechanics.
• Smart-contract risk. The May 27, 2026 vault exploit ($43K) was minor and core-protocol-isolated, but it illustrates ongoing smart-contract exposure in a multi-token, multi-vault system.
• TVL/liquidity risk. Protocol TVL is ~$102M — down from ~$1.87B peak. Thinner liquidity means larger slippage on secondary-market bUSD0 exits.

Usual's stablecoin side is conservative, but its yield side is novel and has shown stress. Treat USD0 as a dollar, but bUSD0 and USUAL as higher-risk, token-denominated, term-locked positions.

Safety checklist

1. Hold USD0, not bUSD0, if you want par liquidity — bUSD0 is a locked bond, not cash.
2. Only lock bUSD0 if you can hold toward June 2028 — early unconditional exit means the floor price and rt-bUSD0 burn; conditional 1:1 forfeit means losing all USUAL rewards.
3. Treat Alpha Yield as USUAL exposure — your real return moves with USUAL's price, which is down ~99% from ATH.
4. Read governance changes — the January 2025 episode came from a mechanics change; the UIP-12 rebrand/rt-bUSD0 addition is another example.
5. Diversify your dollar exposure — don't concentrate in one novel stablecoin model.
6. Verify the URL is usual.money.

Glossary

• USD0 — Usual's 1:1 RWA-backed (USYC/BUIDL/M) stablecoin; redeemable, targets $1; ~$562M circulating.
• bUSD0 — formerly USD0++; USD0 locked to June 11, 2028; bond-like, earns Alpha Yield, trades ~$0.963.
• rt-bUSD0 — redemption token issued alongside new bUSD0 mints; burn with bUSD0 to exit early at 1:1 before maturity.
• Floor price — the sub-$1 minimum for unconditional early bUSD0 redemption (~$0.87 when set; converges to $1 at June 2028).
• USUAL — governance + revenue-sharing token; ATH $1.61 (Dec 2024); ~$0.013 (May 2026); max supply 3B.
• USUALx — staked USUAL; earns weekly USD0 (Revenue Switch), 10% of USUAL emissions, 33.33% of protocol fees.
• Alpha Yield — bUSD0 rewards paid in USUAL (volatile, not a fixed dollar rate).
• Revenue Switch — mechanism redirecting protocol fees as USD0 to USUALx stakers weekly; live since January 13, 2025.
• Lock & Boost — optional 1/3/6/12-month USUALx commitment for up to 8x weekly revenue multiplier.
• Bankruptcy-remote — legal structure ring-fencing USD0's reserves from the Usual entity.
• EUR0 — Usual's euro stablecoin backed by euTBL (Spiko Eurozone T-Bills); launched Q4 2025.
• ETH0 — Usual's synthetic ETH backed by Lido wstETH; earns USUAL distributions.
• UZR — Usual's zero-rate credit primitive for borrowing against USD0.
• USD0a — delta-neutral yield product combining spot/futures + T-bill cushion.
• USYC — Hashnote International Short Duration Yield Fund ERC-20 (reverse REPO + US Treasuries); primary USD0 collateral.

Looking ahead

Usual's 2026 path is to scale its redistribution model and expand beyond a single dollar — bUSD0 with rt-bUSD0 mechanics, EUR0 banking rails, ETH0, USD0a, and UZR credit. Watch three signals: USD0 supply recovery (it is off ~65% from peak), whether Alpha Yield in USUAL stays meaningful as USUAL's price stabilizes or recovers, and whether the EUR0/ETH0 products attract genuine TVL. Those determine whether Usual's "yield to users" pitch becomes a durable multi-currency stablecoin infrastructure or remains a cyclical, token-incentive-driven story.

For context, see our best stablecoins, Ethena guide, Sky guide, and best real-world assets (RWA) guides.