MUSD surpasses $750M in lifetime volume as Bitcoin-backed stablecoin expands across Wormhole network

A Bitcoin-backed stablecoin you probably haven’t heard of just quietly crossed $750 million in lifetime volume. MUSD, the flagship product of the Mezo ecosystem, now operates natively across Mezo, Ethereum, and Base via Wormhole’s cross-chain infrastructure, marking a notable milestone for what remains one of the more ambitious experiments in Bitcoin DeFi. MUSD appears to be breaking that pattern, with roughly $789 million in transaction volume during the first half of 2026 alone and around 41,000 holders to its name. How MUSD actually works MUSD operates on a collateralized debt position model. Users deposit Bitcoin as collateral and mint dollar-denominated stablecoins against it, similar to how MakerDAO’s DAI works with Ethereum, except with Bitcoin as the underlying asset. The system allows loan-to-value ratios of up to roughly 90%, with over-collateralization exceeding 110%. That means for every dollar of MUSD in circulation, there’s more than $1.10 worth of Bitcoin backing it up. As of mid-2026, approximately 913 BTC sit locked as collateral within the Mezo ecosystem. The appeal is straightforward: maintain long exposure to BTC while still being able to deploy capital across D...