Why can't a stablecoin stay stable?
Main Street USD, or msUSD, was a stablecoin expected to peg at $1.
But in recent events, the price broke away from $1. Some data feeds showed levels as low as $0.29 and below.
So how does a stablecoin depeg?
For a stablecoin to remain close to $1, the market needs to trust three things:
1️⃣ Reserves
Is there actually enough backing behind the token?
2️⃣ Verification
Who checks these reserves, how often, and in what manner?
3️⃣ Liquidity
If everyone wants to exit during a crisis, are there enough buyers in the market?
In the msUSD case, the reserve verification provider, Accountable, terminated its agreement with Main Street. Following this, the public verification layer was removed.
Mainstreet asserted that the assets are still fully backed, claiming the issue arose not from reserve quality but from verification and reporting infrastructure.
However, the market sometimes prices in trust before an announcement.
If trust weakens, selling kicks in.
If selling occurs, liquidity gets strained.
If liquidity is strained, the price could break away from $1.
This is what we call depeg.
The most critical lesson with stablecoins is this:
“Fully backed” isn’t enough.
The market wants to see this, verify it, and be able to exit if necessary.
📌 Sources: BeInCrypto, CoinGecko, Crypto.news, KuCoin news feed — June 20–22, 2026
⚠️ This content is for informational purposes only. It is not investment advice, financial consulting, or product recommendations.
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