Collapse of the MSUSD Stablecoin: $39 Million at Risk, DeFi Sector in Shock
On June 20, 2026, the MSUSD stablecoin, issued by the Main Street project, lost its peg to the US dollar. The asset's price collapsed by over 90% — from the target $1 to levels not exceeding a few cents. This event triggered a chain reaction in the DeFi ecosystem, leading to the closure of one of the major protocols.
Cause of the depeg — a rift with the auditor
The key trigger for the crash was a conflict with the reserve confirmation provider Accountable. The service unilaterally terminated its cooperation with Main Street, citing the protocol's non-compliance with verification standards. As soon as the monitoring was disconnected, the market instantly reacted: the MSUSD rate plummeted by over 90%. The Main Street team described the situation as a technical reporting issue, claiming that the assets are fully backed. $8 million in USDC was allocated to support liquidity. The project is already searching for a new auditor, but investor confidence has been undermined.
Domino effect: closure of the Altura fund
The panic quickly spread to other DeFi services. The Altura protocol, managing a $39 million vault, announced its closure due to a mass withdrawal of funds. Within 24 hours, users withdrew over $8.5 million in USDT. Altura head Ranvir Arora explained that the project had no direct investments in MSUSD, but both protocols used the same auditor — Accountable. This created a "contagion" effect: investors, fearing hidden risks, began urgently pulling out their assets.
The Altura team promised a gradual return of funds, but the process will be delayed as part of the liquidity is placed in long-term strategies and real-world assets (RWA). Other products of the protocol continue to operate normally, but trust in the sector has been undermined.
My view
This incident is a classic example of how fragile the DeFi ecosystem is when it depends on a single auditor or provider. The problem is not with MSUSD itself, but with the lack of diversification in reserve verification. The stablecoin market, which reached an all-time high capitalization of $323 billion in May, is now demonstrating its vulnerability to technical and reputational risks. Investors should reconsider their approach to selecting protocols and pay attention to those that use independent and decentralized verification mechanisms.