Add crvUSD-USDM pool to Gauge controller

Gauge Proposals
#1

Summary:

Proposal to add crvUSD-USDM pool to the gauge controller on Curve on Ethereum.

USDM is the first permissionless and regulated yield-bearing USD stablecoin, fully backed by US Treasuries.

Motivation

USDM is a yield-bearing USD stablecoin that supports permissionless transfers. It also rebases daily, making the opportunity cost of having USD on crypto obsolete.
Integrating USDM into Curve via a crvUSD pair is the first step in adding scalable and safe yield-bearing stablecoins into Curve, the biggest exchange for stablecoins.
This can benefit Curve by adding overall liquidity to Curve and generating demand for crvUSD.

USDM safety features

  • Solvency: USDM is backed by short-term US Treasuries, held in segregated bankruptcy-remote accounts for the benefit of users, as prescribed by law. Short-term US Treasuries are the lowest risk USD-denominated asset, hence the safest way to collateralize USD stablecoins.

  • Liquidity: USDM is redeemable at $1 by Primary Clients. Recently, Mountain Protocol announced a partnership with Wintermute (link) that allows for large-scale, 24/7 redemptions. As part of the deal, Wintermute will hold USDM on the balance sheet with no over-collateralization, evidence of Wintermute viewing USDM as safe an asset as other major stablecoins.

  • Price stability: USDM is easily arbitraged by Primary holders. USDM has traded at or about $1 since launch since arbitrageurs can extract any misbalances by using the fixed $1 primary market.

  • Smart contract security: USDM’s contract is a rebasing ERC-20, a battle-tested contract with little to no innovation. The contract has been audited by OpenZeppelin (link), and it implements best-in-class quality standards such as access control roles, formal verification, fuzzing, and more (link).

  • Regulatory clarity: Mountain Protocol is a regulated financial entity licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. The BMA issues only a small number of licenses, which also include companies like Coinbase, Circle, XBTO, and CashApp. USDM is a digital asset governed by the Digital Asset Business Act (link). Among other details, digital assets issued by DABA-regulated entities are recognized as valid property, are bankruptcy remote, and issues are mandated to abide by the Terms and Conditions of the issued assets.

  • Governance: As a regulated financial institution, Mountain Protocol is required to hold high governance standards. This includes the following:

    • Independent Director: Firas Habach, Head of Compliance at Sygnum Bank
    • Third-Party Signer: Steakhouse Financial
    • Independent auditor: Harris and Trotter
    • Monthly Attestations: Nephos Group
    • Regulator-driven audits: BMA (Bermuda Monetary Authority)

Technical Details

References/Useful links:

Regulatory license: https://www.bma.bm/regulated-entities (search for “Mountain Protocol”)
Documentation: https://docs.mountainprotocol.com
Security Center: https://security.mountainprotocol.com
Token: https://etherscan.io/token/0x59d9356e565ab3a36dd77763fc0d87feaf85508c
Open source code: Mountain Protocol · GitHub
Website: https://mountainprotocol.com
CoinGecko: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/usdm
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MountainUSDM
LinkedIn: Mountain Protocol | LinkedIn

Conclusion

Mountain Protocol’s USDM presents an opportunity for Curve to continue to build its dominance as the main venue for Stablecoins and RWAs, as well as generate demand for crvUSD.

Link to vote: https://dao.curve.fi/vote/ownership/465

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