Usual Backers
Since its inception in June 2022, Usual has been backed by 200+ investors. Across two funding rounds, the protocol has raised a total of $17 million, bringing together leading venture capital firms, crypto-native funds, and strategic industry partners.
Funding Rounds
Seed Round — April 2024
Amount Raised
$7 million
Key Investors
IOSG Ventures, Kraken Ventures, GSR, Mantle, StarkWare, and others
This seed round established Usual’s foundational investor base, adding partners with deep expertise across DeFi infrastructure, market making, and Layer 2 scaling.
Series A — December 2024
Amount Raised
$10 million
Lead Investors
Binance Labs, Kraken Ventures
Participants
Galaxy Digital, OKX Ventures, and others
The Series A was led by two of the largest exchange-affiliated venture arms in the industry, reflecting strong institutional conviction in Usual’s long-term vision. The round closed shortly after the USUAL token launched on Binance Launchpool in November 2024.
Strategic Investor Alignment
Usual’s investor base reflects the protocol’s positioning at the intersection of traditional finance and DeFi:
Exchange ecosystems — Binance Labs, Kraken Ventures, and OKX Ventures support distribution, liquidity, and market access across some of the world’s largest trading platforms.
DeFi-native funds — IOSG Ventures, GSR, and Galaxy Digital bring deep experience in on-chain protocols, tokenomics design, and market-making infrastructure.
Infrastructure partners — Mantle and StarkWare contribute Layer 2 scaling and multi-chain deployment expertise, supporting Usual’s cross-chain ambitions across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, and BNB Chain.
Insider Token Allocation
In line with Usual’s community-first ethos, insiders (team, investors, and advisors) were originally allocated 10% of all USUAL token emissions, with the remaining 90% distributed to the community. This deliberately inverts traditional stablecoin models, where 100% of revenue typically accrues to the issuing company and its shareholders.
Vesting Structure
Insider tokens follow a structured vesting schedule designed to ensure long-term alignment:
Cliff period: 1 year from the Token Generation Event (TGE) — November 25, 2024
Cliff release: 33.33% of the insider allocation unlocks at the end of the cliff
Linear vesting: The remaining ~67% vests monthly after the cliff, continuing through June 2028
Full vesting completion: June 2028, coinciding with the bUSD0 bond maturity
November 2025 Restructuring
Following governance proposals in November 2025, the insider allocation model was simplified:
The separate USUAL* insider token was retired and converted into liquid USUAL at a 0.97:1 ratio.
The total supply cap was reduced from 4 billion to 3 billion USUAL, mechanically increasing the insider share to approximately 30.25% of the new supply (~910.8 million USUAL).
The conversion was funded entirely from the Foundation bucket — no new tokens were minted.
Monthly vesting continues through June 2028.
This restructuring aligned Usual’s insider allocation with common DeFi benchmarks (~30%) while simplifying tokenomics to a single, liquid token for all stakeholders.
Last updated