The stablecoin MSUSD has lost its peg: a 90% collapse and a chain reaction in the market
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 more than 90% relative to its $1 target, triggering widespread panic in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem.
The cause of the crash was a severed relationship with reserve confirmation provider Accountable. The service unilaterally terminated its cooperation with Main Street, citing the protocol's non-compliance with audit standards. As soon as monitoring was disconnected, the market reacted instantly: the MSUSD rate fell by 85–90%, as confirmed by data from analytical platforms.
The Main Street team described the incident as a technical reporting issue, asserting that the assets are fully backed. To stabilize the situation, developers allocated $8 million in USDC to support liquidity and announced they are seeking a new auditor. However, investor confidence has been undermined.
Chain Reaction: Closure of the Altura Fund
The MSUSD incident triggered panic in related protocols. DeFi platform Altura announced the closure of its main vault, worth $39 million, due to a mass withdrawal of funds. Within 24 hours, users withdrew over $8.5 million in USDT. Altura CEO Ranvir Arora explained that the project had no direct investments in MSUSD, but both protocols used the same auditor — Accountable. This sparked a wave of distrust.
The Altura team began a phased return of assets, warning that the process would take time due to the allocation of some funds in long-term strategies and real-world assets (RWA). Other platform products continue to operate normally.
Against the backdrop of these events, it is worth recalling that in May 2026, the total market capitalization of stablecoins hit an all-time high, reaching $323 billion. However, such incidents demonstrate the fragility of the ecosystem, where trust in auditors and reserve transparency remain key factors for stability.
My analysis: The situation with MSUSD is a classic example of how the lack of independent and reliable auditing can destroy even a seemingly backed asset. The stablecoin market urgently needs standardization of reserve checks; otherwise, such "black swans" will recur, undermining trust in the entire DeFi sector.