Cardano's USDM Stablecoin to Launch for Retail Users, When?

Mehen Finance, the driving force behind Cardano's latest stablecoin, USDM, is gearing up for a public debut of its fiat-backed stablecoin aimed at retail users as soon as next month.

While USDM officially entered the Cardano ecosystem on March 17, it is presently accessible solely to institutional participants.

Matthew Plomin, Founding Partner at Mehen Finance, disclosed to Cointelegraph that the anticipated retail rollout is slated for April.

"We are currently in a limited launch phase, internally referred to as 'Live main-net ecosystem early-rollout'," said Plomin, noting that eligible institutions can now partake in the platform and commence minting the stablecoin.

According to Plomin, the USDM model mirrors other fiat-backed stablecoins but incorporates a crucial feature to prevent excessive minting.

USDM's reserve is directly reported to Charli3, a decentralized oracle tailored for the Cardano network, with Charli3 oracle data seamlessly integrated into the token's smart contract. This setup ensures transparent real-time transfers, Plomin asserted.

"The independently-reported oracle value governs the amount of USDM token that can be minted, so excess minting is not possible."

Mehen had previously announced that USDM would not be susceptible to freezing, setting it apart from stablecoins like Circle's USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT).

This attribute positions USDM as a superior stablecoin, argued Caleb Montiel, founder of Cardano content platform Cardano Curation.

However, crypto commentator Vanessa Harris cautioned that the inability to freeze USDM on-chain could potentially lead regulators to freeze USDM-linked bank accounts, potentially affecting USDM's peg.

Based in New York, Mehen operates in an environment where the state's financial services regulator has a track record of investigating and taking action against major industry players.

Plomin clarified that the USDM reserve is safeguarded in government-only money market mutual funds at Fidelity and Western Asset Management, emphasizing that these funds are not utilized as banks.

Early institutional users are currently able to exchange United States dollars via wire transfer for USDM at a 1:1 ratio.

Having secured licensing approvals from 17 U.S. states with more forthcoming, Mehen intends to pursue money transmitter and virtual asset service provider licenses in Europe and the United Kingdom later this year.

Simultaneously, Plomin disclosed that Mehen is on the verge of securing its first investment through a crowdfunded equity raise instead of opting for a token sale.

"Securities offered under regulated crowdfunding are available to people around the world, and we are committed to tokenizing our Series A shares on Cardano."

The investment campaign is set to take place on the crowdfunding platform ChainRaise.