The stablecoin MSUSD has collapsed by 90%: the loss of its peg to the dollar has triggered a crisis of confidence in DeFi.
On June 20, the MSUSD stablecoin issued by the Main Street project lost its peg to the US dollar. The asset's price collapsed by more than 85% from its target of $1, triggering a chain reaction in the decentralized finance market.
The key reason for the depegging was a sudden termination of the relationship with the reserve verification provider, Accountable. The latter unilaterally ended its cooperation with Main Street, citing the protocol's non-compliance with audit standards. Immediately after the monitoring was disconnected, the MSUSD rate plummeted by over 90%.
Main Street developers called the incident a "technical reporting issue" and stated that the assets are fully backed. As an emergency measure, the team allocated $8 million in USDC to support liquidity and announced a search for a new auditor. However, the market reacted with extreme skepticism.
Panic in DeFi: Closure of the Altura Fund
The MSUSD incident triggered a massive capital outflow from other DeFi services. The Altura protocol was forced to announce the closure of its main vault, worth $39 million, due to unprecedented pressure from users. Over 24 hours, more than 8.5 million USDT was processed in instant payouts.
Altura's head, Ranvir Arora, explained that the project had no direct investments in MSUSD. However, both protocols used the same auditor, Accountable. This coincidence undermined confidence in Altura's financial stability, even though the projects were not formally connected. The Altura team began a phased return of assets, noting that part of the funds were placed in long-term strategies and RWAs.
My expert opinion: This incident is a wake-up call for the entire stablecoin sector. Dependence on a single auditor or reserve provider creates a critical point of failure. I recall that in May, the total market capitalization of stablecoins hit an all-time high of $323 billion, but events like this show that growth without proper risk diversification is a path to disaster. The market urgently needs more transparent and decentralized mechanisms for reserve verification.