Usual Protocol

Executive Summary

Usual Protocol is a Paris-based RWA stablecoin infrastructure: USD0 is fully backed by US T-bills and USD0++ is a yield-bearing locked variant, with $USUAL capturing protocol revenue — positioned explicitly as "Tether for DeFi" with revenue flowing to token holders rather than a single issuer. The two hard red flags are a well-documented January 2025 crisis where the protocol unilaterally rewrote USD0++ redemption terms mid-flight (triggering a depeg and user losses), and $USUAL shedding 90%+ of its post-Binance-listing peak, suggesting the tokenomics mechanics have not held up under market pressure. On the positive side, co-founders Pierre Person and Adli Takkal Bataille are fully public, the protocol raised from IOSG and Kraken Ventures, launched on Binance Launchpool, hit $1B+ TVL at peak, and holds multiple professional audits — the scraper flags for anonymous team and no audit are flat wrong. Score: 58/100 — legitimate infrastructure with real backers, but the USD0++ governance breach is a structural trust scar that serious allocators cannot ignore.