trUSD

​

What is trUSD?

trUSD is Tori Finance’s synthetic dollar token. It is designed to track the value of USD and serves as the foundation of the Tori ecosystem. Unlike fiat-backed stablecoins that hold dollars in bank accounts, trUSD is backed by delta-neutral, market-neutral trading positions. This unique backing model is what enables yield generation for strUSD stakers. Key characteristics:

​

Why trUSD Exists

Traditional stablecoins face a fundamental tradeoff:

• Fiat-backed stablecoins (USDC, USDT) are stable but generate no yield for holders
• Yield-bearing stables offer returns but often carry significant risks

trUSD bridges this gap by providing a stable-value asset that can be staked to access institutional-grade yield strategies - while maintaining the simplicity and composability that DeFi users expect.

​

How to Get trUSD

There are two ways to acquire trUSD:

​

Option 1: Swap (Recommended for Most Users)

The simplest way to get trUSD - no verification required.

​

Option 2: Mint (Verified Participants Only)

Users who complete KYC/AML verification can mint trUSD directly from the protocol at NAV. Benefits of minting:

• Direct access to protocol NAV
• No market spread or slippage
• Larger transaction sizes supported

Fee: A 10bps (0.1%) fee applies to mint operations. This covers the costs of entering backing positions. See Minting & Redemption for verification details.

​

How trUSD is Backed

trUSD is backed by the protocol’s delta-neutral, market-neutral trading positions. This is fundamentally different from fiat-backed stablecoins.

​

What “Delta-Neutral” Means

Delta-neutral positions are designed to have zero directional exposure to market movements. This means:

• The backing value doesn’t depend on crypto prices going up or down
• Returns come from market inefficiencies, not directional bets
• The strategy aims for consistent performance regardless of market conditions

Simplified Example: How Delta-Neutral Works

Imagine you believe the price difference between two related assets will shrink, but you don’t want to bet on the overall market direction.Traditional approach: Buy Asset A and hope it goes up.Delta-neutral approach: Buy Asset A and simultaneously short an equivalent amount of Asset B.If both assets move in the same direction, the gains and losses offset each other. But if the price difference between them shrinks (as expected), you profit - regardless of whether the overall market went up or down.This is a simplified example. Tori’s actual strategies are more sophisticated but follow the same principle.

​

Transparency

The protocol provides real-time transparency on all backing: User funds are never commingled with operations. All reserve data is independently verifiable. Learn more about backing in our Backing & Reserves documentation.

​

Peg Mechanism

trUSD is designed to trade close to $1.00. The peg is maintained through several mechanisms:

​

Arbitrage Incentives

When trUSD deviates from $1.00, arbitrageurs are economically incentivized to restore the peg: When trUSD trades above $1.00:

• Verified participants can mint trUSD at NAV and sell on the open market
• This increases supply and pushes the price back toward $1.00

When trUSD trades below $1.00:

• Verified participants can buy trUSD on the market and redeem at NAV
• This decreases supply and pushes the price back toward $1.00

​

Liquidity

Deep liquidity in trUSD trading pairs minimizes price deviations and enables efficient arbitrage.

​

Use Cases

​

Stake for Yield

The primary use case for trUSD is staking it to receive strUSD, the yield-bearing version. When you stake trUSD, you receive strUSD tokens that automatically accumulate yield from Tori’s trading strategies. Learn more about strUSD →

​

DeFi Integration

trUSD is designed to be a composable DeFi primitive:

• Collateral: Use as collateral in lending protocols
• Liquidity: Provide liquidity in DEX pools
• Transfers: Send to any Ethereum wallet
• Integration: Build on top of the Tori ecosystem

DeFi integrations are currently in development. See DeFi Integrations for updates.

​

Store of Value

Hold trUSD as a synthetic dollar exposure without needing to stake. While you won’t earn yield on unstaked trUSD, you maintain exposure to the dollar-pegged asset.

​

Custody & Security

All assets backing trUSD are held in institutional-grade secure custody:

• On-chain: Audited smart contracts with multi-signature controls
• Off-chain: Qualified institutional custodians with segregated accounts
• We only work with established, reputable counterparties

​

Technical Details

For developers and integrators:

​

Multi-Chain Architecture

trUSD is built using LayerZero’s Omnichain Fungible Token (OFT) standard, making it multi-chain native from day one:

• Seamless bridging - Transfer trUSD across chains without wrapped tokens
• Unified supply - Single token supply across all chains
• EVM chains - Support for major EVM-compatible chains planned
• Future expansion - Non-EVM chains may be supported in the future

Contract addresses are available in our Contracts documentation.

​

Next Steps