deUSD Architecture

A look into the system that powers deUSD

deUSD is collateralized by a combination of wstETH (used to create a delta neutral collateral position by shorting the same notional value of ETH via a perpetuals futures contract) and MakerDAO's USDS T-Bill protocol. In the future, other assets may be added to as backing collateral for deUSD. Based on liquidity constraints, the basis trade will initially run using the liquidity on centralized exchanges (using funds held in a multisig on chain), but deUSD has a clear path to fully running the basis trade on DeFi exchanges long term.

Funds never live on centralized exchanges (rather in a multisig on-chain), and will be fully noncustodial for DeFi exchanges. Execution is decentralized and powered by the Elixir network.

From a market maker’s perspective, the mint/redeem mechanism for OES multisig funds (mapping onto CEXs) will be straightforward, but boasts both decentralized and trustless execution.

This section covers more details around how the protocol powers deUSD on both centralized and decentralized exchanges.