DeFi
Manta-Based Stablecoin MUSD Leverages BlackRock’s BUIDL for Backing
Holders of MUSD will earn monthly returns derived from BUIDL’s investments in U.S. Treasuries.
The layers of synergy between DeFi and tradfi are deepening.
On June 27, Manta announced that wUSDM, a yield-bearing stablecoin from Mountain Protocol, is now backed by the BlackRock USD Institutional Digital Liquidity Fund (BUIDL), the Ethereum-based tokenized U.S. Treasury fund from the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock.
“Manta Network is proud to be an early adopter of the BUIDL Fund by backing its assets through the on-chain yield-bearing stablecoin,” said Manta said. “This marks a new chapter in the long-term growth and security of all wUSDM holders.”
USDM previously invested its assets directly in US Treasuries. USDM currently ranks 25th among stablecoins with a market cap of $47.1 million, according to CoinGecko.
BlackRock, a company with $9.1 trillion in assets under management (AUM), has launched its BUIDL Fund March 20th. The deployment was a major vote of confidence in both on-chain finance and the Ethereum network.
“This is the latest step forward in our digital asset strategy,” said Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets. “We are focused on developing digital asset solutions that help solve real-world problems for our clients.”
All of BUIDL’s assets are invested in cash, US Treasuries and repurchase agreements, providing shareholders with a stable, low-risk source of return. The fund’s tokenized shares offer a stable value of $1 each, with the fund paying out the daily accrued dividends monthly in the form of additional tokens.
BUILD quickly emerged as the largest tokenized Treasury fund, surpassing Franklin Templeton’s OnChain US Government Money Fund (FOBXX) — which went live in April 2021 — within seven weeks of its launch with $375 millionaccording to Rwa.xyz.
BUIDL continues to lead the industry with $481.8 million in assets under management, representing 27% of the $1.77 billion market cap of the blockchain treasury industry. The capitalization of blockchain treasuries is up 130% since the beginning of the year.
Several DeFi protocols on the Manta network support USDM, allowing users to access additional yields on top of BUIDL dividends.
Manta is currently the 10th largest Layer 2 network in terms of total value locked at $643.2 million, according to L2beat.