Blast-based USDB Stablecoin Loses Dollar-Peg by 6% amid Crypto Market Selloff

As a seasoned analyst with over two decades of experience in the tumultuous world of finance, I’ve witnessed my fair share of market volatility – from the dot-com bubble to the global financial crisis and now, the digital revolution of cryptocurrencies. Today’s events are a stark reminder that the crypto market is no exception to the unpredictable nature of financial markets.


Amidst the turmoil in global stock markets, the selloff in the cryptocurrency market worsened this morning, particularly during Asian trading hours. Bitcoin and other altcoins fell more than 15%, causing a significant increase in market volatility. This volatility led to intense selling pressure for the decentralized stablecoin USDB, which temporarily lost its peg to the U.S. dollar, dipping as much as 6%.

USDB Stablecoin

As a crypto investor, I’ve recently discovered the USDB stablecoin, created by Blast. This coin offers a lucrative 5% return, which is generated through MakerDao’s on-chain T-bill system. What makes this even more appealing is the ability to seamlessly transfer my USDB from Blast to Ethereum, where I can then exchange it for DAI if needed. This versatility and potential yield make USDB an attractive addition to my crypto portfolio.

As an analyst, I observed a significant decline in the crypto market, which resulted in the devaluation of USDB to $0.94. Interestingly, it managed to recover and re-establish its parity with the U.S. dollar at $1. However, during this event, Blast has yet to issue any official commentary on the situation.

In June 2024, the cybersecurity team at Resonance Security expressed significant worries about Blast’s reliance on an external protocol for producing returns, as this setup carries potential risks. Specifically, they pointed out that MakerDAO has not undergone a security review of their smart contracts in the past three years.

Crypto Market Liquidations Rise

In the midst of a substantial stock market decline in countries like Japan and South Korea, the value of cryptocurrency liquidations has skyrocketed past $1 billion over the last day. Many leveraged long positions were forced to be sold off on Monday due to the widespread global market sell-off.

In simpler terms, the overall value of cryptocurrencies has significantly changed due to broader economic trends. Specifically, alternative coins (altcoins) have experienced a significant decrease, with Ethereum dropping over 20%, and many other altcoins correcting by a similar amount.

As a financial analyst, I’ve noticed a significant surge in liquidations within the Decentralized Finance (DeFi) sector over the past day, surpassing $350 million – a yearly peak. This upward trend seems to be driven by the recent downturn of altcoins such as Ethereum and Solana.

It’s been reported that most of the recent liquidations have focused on three primary assets, and this has had an impact on platforms like Aave. Furthermore, a significant amount of ETH collateral has been under pressure, leading to over $216 million in liquidations within the past day. Specifically, wrapped staked ETH (wstETH) saw liquidations worth approximately $97 million, while wrapped bitcoin (wBTC) also faced substantial liquidation, totaling around $35 million.

Financial experts anticipate that the ongoing liquidations could potentially worsen when the U.S. stock market reopens on Monday. Interestingly, apart from USD-backed coins like USDB, other stablecoins such as USDT and USDC have successfully maintained their dollar parity by meeting liquidity needs effectively.

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2024-08-05 15:51