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Chainlink, TrueUSD Start Real-Time ‘Mint Lock’ Verification of Stablecoin Reserves

The key is to get information from the bank account where the stablecoin’s reserves are kept to the blockchain-based smart contract that controls issuance of new TUSD.

(DALL-E/CoinDesk)
(DALL-E/CoinDesk)

Backers of the stablecoin TtueUSD (TUSD) have gone live with a new system in conjunction with data-oracle project Chainlink to assure that reserves are adequate before new units of the dollar-pegged token can be minted.

The reserve data is aggregated by an accounting firm called The Network Firm LLP and then provided on-chain via Chainlink, according to a press release from Chainlink and Archblock, which supports TUSD.

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The key is to get information from the bank account where the stablecoin’s reserves are kept to the blockchain-based smart contract that controls issuance of new TUSD.

Read more: SEC Increases Scrutiny of Audits of Cryptocurrency Companies: WSJ

The addition of the “mint lock control” makes TUSD the first stablecoin “to programmatically control minting with real-time on-chain verification of off-chain reserves,” according to the statement.

TUSD is currently deployed on Arbitrum, Avalanche, Binance Chain, BNB Chain, Cronos, Ethereum, Fantom, HECO, Polygon, Aurora, Optimism and Tron, the statement added.

The new setup comes as investors have become increasingly skeptical about the collateral backing stablecoins and cryptocurrencies, and even customer assets on exchanges – forcing companies to be more transparent with “proof of reserves” reports and other assurances.

Read more: Proof of Reserves Explained

Bradley Keoun

Bradley Keoun is CoinDesk's managing editor of tech & protocols, where he oversees a team of reporters covering blockchain technology, and previously ran the global crypto markets team. A two-time Loeb Awards finalist, he previously was chief global finance and economic correspondent for TheStreet and before that worked as an editor and reporter for Bloomberg News in New York and Mexico City, reporting on Wall Street, emerging markets and the energy industry. He started out as a police-beat reporter for the Gainesville Sun in Florida and later worked as a general-assignment reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, he double-majored in electrical engineering and classical studies as an undergraduate at Duke University and later obtained a master's in journalism from the University of Florida. He is currently based in Austin, Texas, and in his spare time plays guitar, sings in a choir and hikes in the Texas Hill Country. He owns less than $1,000 each of several cryptocurrencies.

Bradley Keoun