The stablecoin MSUSD collapsed by 90% after breaking ties with its auditor: a crisis of trust in DeFi
On June 20, the MSUSD stablecoin, issued by the Main Street platform, lost its peg to the US dollar. Within hours, the asset's price collapsed by over 90%, falling well below the target mark of $1. This is one of the sharpest de-pegs among algorithmic stablecoins in recent months.
The collapse was triggered by a unilateral termination of relations with the reserve verification provider, the service Accountable. The auditor stated that the Main Street protocol did not meet verification standards and immediately ceased monitoring. As soon as the reserve confirmation system was disconnected, the market instantly reacted with a sell-off.
The Main Street team attempted to contain the panic, calling the situation a "technical reporting issue." Developers claim that all assets are fully backed and allocated $8 million in USDC to support liquidity. However, investor confidence has been undermined: the project is urgently seeking a new auditor, but without independent reserve confirmation, restoring parity will be extremely difficult.
Domino Effect: Altura Closes $39 Million Vault
The MSUSD incident triggered a chain reaction in other DeFi services. The Altura protocol announced the suspension of its main vault, worth $39 million, due to a massive outflow of funds. Within 24 hours, users withdrew over $8.5 million in USDT. Altura's head, Ranvir Arora, emphasized that the project had no direct investments in MSUSD, but both protocols used the same auditor — Accountable.
The Altura team has already begun a phased return of assets. The process will take time, as some funds are placed in long-term strategies and real-world assets (RWA). Other platform products continue to operate normally.
This case once again raises the question of the role of auditors in DeFi. When a single verification provider can unilaterally collapse a stablecoin, the entire ecosystem becomes vulnerable. The market needs decentralized and resilient mechanisms for reserve confirmation, otherwise such incidents will recur. Let me remind you that in May, the total capitalization of stablecoins hit an all-time high of $323 billion — but without a reliable trust infrastructure, this growth may prove fragile.