<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A decentralized stablecoin </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/amp/post/141274/near-protocol-is-set-to-launch-a-stablecoin-called-usn-source"><span style="font-weight: 400;">called USN</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> has launched today on NEAR Protocol, a scalable Layer 1 blockchain, according to statement shared by DeFi research firm Proximity Labs. The stablecoin can be checked on NEAR's official blockchain explorer at this <a href="https://explorer.near.org/accounts/usn">account address</a>.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The launch confirms </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/amp/post/141274/near-protocol-is-set-to-launch-a-stablecoin-called-usn-source"><span style="font-weight: 400;">previous reporting</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> by The Block that the stablecoin was in development. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">USN is a decentralized stablecoin soft-pegged to the US dollar but don’t hold dollar cash reserves. The USN stablecoin can be minted by depositing in NEAR tokens </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">the native crypto asset of the NEAR blockchain </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">as collateral. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">An independent team called </span><a href="https://twitter.com/DcntrlBank"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Decentral Bank</span></a> <span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">organized as a DAO </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">— </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">is leading the USN stablecoin effort. It is working in collaboration with Proximity Labs, which is a contributor to the DAO. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A Proximity spokesperson said USN can serve as an effective way to bootstrap liquidity for DeFi protocols. NEAR Protocol is home to protocols like Ref Finance, Burrow, Aurigami, and </span><a href="https://www.theblockcrypto.com/post/142874/aurora-based-defi-protocol-bastion-raises-9-million-in-funding-led-by-three-arrows-capital"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Bastion</span></a> that <span style="font-weight: 400;">have decided to integrate the USN stablecoin. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The USN stablecoin will pay roughly 10% annual yield from Decentral Bank. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">This minimum yield will come from Decentral DAO’s revenue from native staking of NEAR tokens with security validators. This staking process currently </span><a href="https://www.stakingrewards.com/earn/near-protocol/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">earns just about 11% return,</span></a> the team said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/DcntrlBank/status/1518631618352914432">Twitter post</a>.</p> <p>Per the DAO, the USN yield will vary depending on the NEAR staking percentage and the market value of the tokens, and in the beginning could likely add up to more than 20% APY for "first lenders" through additional incentives. Notably, the USN yield will kick start only after a DAO vote.</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In addition, the Decentral Bank DAO will have a few stability mechanisms to support USN’s dollar peg. The first is an arbitrage system that will try to ensure that the USN stablecoin trades around one dollar worth of NEAR tokens. The second is a “reserve fund” made of NEAR and USDT tokens owned by the DAO treasury. How much will be spent on this fund is still undecided. </span></p> <p><em>Update: The article was updated with the latest comments from Decentral DAO.</em><i data-stringify-type="italic"><br /> <br /> For more breaking stories like this, make sure to follow The Block on </i><i data-stringify-type="italic"><a class="c-link" tabindex="-1" href="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-stringify-link="https://twitter.com/TheBlock__" data-sk="tooltip_parent" data-remove-tab-index="true">Twitter</a></i><i data-stringify-type="italic">.<br /> <br /> </i></p><br /><span class="copyright"><p>© 2023 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.</p> </span>