During the Web3 Summit 2025, Gavin Wood, co-founder of Polkadot, unveiled plans for a decentralized stablecoin backed by the DOT token. This development could significantly impact the ecosystem's growth and scalability.
Plans for the Stablecoin
On July 17, at the first day of the Web3 Summit 2025, Gavin Wood discussed the protocol's plans for a fully decentralized stablecoin. The stablecoin will be pegged to the DOT token, which, according to Wood, will help increase capital efficiency and scalability. Currently, the project is in its early stages, with a treasury proposal being developed to bootstrap initial liquidity.
Current Status of DOT Token
At the time of publication, the DOT token has increased by 1.54% over the last 24 hours, reaching a peak of $4.26 on July 17, although it slightly dipped back to $4.19 soon after. In the past week, the token has jumped by 14.7%. The market capitalization of the token has slightly increased by 0.23%, reaching $6.3 billion. Moreover, the daily trading volume for the token surged by 30.9%, nearing $500 million, indicating a rise in market activity.
History of the Previous Stablecoin aUSD
In 2022, there was already a stablecoin tied to DOT. The Ethereum-compatible project Acala launched the USD-pegged stablecoin aUSD, designed to support the Polkadot and Kusama ecosystems. However, in September 2022, Acala Network suffered an attack that caused the aUSD stablecoin to depeg by more than 99%.
If the plans for launching a decentralized stablecoin on the Polkadot platform are realized, it could fundamentally change the use dynamics of the DOT token and contribute to the growth of the ecosystem.
