MetaMask's mUSD stablecoin goes live as number of dollar-pegged tokens grows

Crypto wallet MetaMask's new mUSD stablecoin went live on Monday, according to a post to social media.

The company said last month that mUSD will be issued by Bridge, a Stripe-owned stablecoin issuance platform, and minted via M0’s decentralized infrastructure. The stablecoin is fully backed 1:1 by “high-quality, highly-liquid dollar equivalent assets” with real-time transparency and cross-chain composability via M0’s liquidity network.

MetaMask's launch comes on the heels of stablecoin giant Tether unveiling plans to launch a U.S.-compliant stablecoin, USAT. Hyperliquid is also launching a native stablecoin while traditional banks, now that there is regulatory clarity in the U.S., are exploring issuing or integrating tokenized dollars. 

MetaMask said in August mUSD is the first stablecoin launched by a self-custodial crypto wallet, positioning it as the default digital dollar unit across its ecosystem.

As of press time on Monday, mUSD's circulating supply was about $18 million, according to its website.

The company has also said users will be able to on-ramp, hold, swap, transfer, and bridge mUSD inside MetaMask. The team, incubated by Ethereum development firm Consensys, expects to enable spending via the MetaMask Card at Mastercard-accepting merchants by year-end.