I have been following the @MezoNetwork project for a long time, and with the mainnet launching in May, I took a closer look at Mezo's product mechanism.
In short, Mezo is a BTCFi platform that allows users to mint the stablecoin $MUSD by collateralizing Bitcoin for DeFi lending, consumer payments, savings interest, and more.
Technically, Mezo combines Bitcoin's native technology with the Proof of HODL mechanism to build a financial sovereignty ecosystem without banks, just as Mezo's official slogan states, "Bank on yourself," allowing every Bitcoiner to become their own central bank president. This means users do not need to sell BTC to unlock more liquidity.
Mezo's testnet will be launched in 2024, with a current TVL exceeding $168 million, which includes 1,566 BTC and some stablecoins.
The team behind Mezo is Thesis, which previously launched products like tBTC and Fold, having rich experience in developing DeFi projects around BTC. Last year, Mezo secured two rounds of investment totaling over $28 million from well-known institutions such as Pantera Capital, Hack VC, and Multicoin.
Mezo's mainnet will go live in May, with the exact date yet to be determined, so stay tuned.
Stablecoin MUSD
The permissionless stablecoin MUSD, which anyone can mint and is 100% backed by BTC, is Mezo's core product and an important tool for achieving BTCFi. It allows users to unlock more liquidity without selling BTC.
◦ How to obtain MUSD: Collateralize BTC to mint (borrow) MUSD directly or purchase MUSD through DEX.
◦ Application scenarios for MUSD: Payments, DeFi, savings, depositing in vaults for earnings, etc.
◦ Sources of MUSD earnings: Liquidity pool fees from Mezo's native DEX, interest rates from passive MUSD savings, etc.
How to participate in Mezo?
With the mainnet launch as the dividing line, users can participate in Mezo in two ways:
◦ Before the mainnet launch: Starting from May 7, you can pre-deposit assets like BTC/tBTC/wBTC/cbBTC into Mezo's "pre-launch" vault to earn Mezo ecosystem points (mats, which are Mezo's TGE points 👀). Once Mezo's mainnet launches in May, these funds will automatically bridge to an independent vault on Mezo's mainnet, which can be used to mint the stablecoin MUSD or provide liquidity to Mezo's native DEX to earn yield.
◦ After the mainnet launch: Once Mezo's mainnet goes live, users can mint the stablecoin MUSD and participate in the aforementioned application scenarios. When these application scenarios gradually unfold, that is the true face of BTCFi.
Although the BTC ecosystem appears somewhat lonely in the short term, the entire industry remains highly focused on this track. The reason is simple: there will always be more projects coveting the massive liquidity of BTC 🤤, wanting to pry open and unlock this vast liquidity. Lending and stablecoins backed by BTC will surely see major projects emerge.
