Stablecoins are on track to become the backbone of tomorrow’s financial system, but the real battleground will not be “who issues the most dollars.” It will be who distributes them best, who integrates them everywhere, and above all who builds the services that make them useful. In a market that is unlikely to remain concentrated, stablecoins will compete less on the peg and more on the credit and yield rails attached to them.

USD0 was designed with that in mind. It is not just a settlement asset. It is meant to be a credit and capital vehicle for the Usual ecosystem. And like money in the real economy, USD0 only becomes infrastructure when it circulates. That circulation depends on access to credit. Without a native borrowing lane, stable assets remain passive. Users can hold them, but they cannot efficiently reuse them.

This is what Usual Zero Rate unlocks.

As part of Usual Labs’ rollout of Fira, UZR is now live as Usual’s first native credit primitive. Credit that previously required external partners is now internalized via Fira, protocol-owned, DAO-governed, and aligned with Usual’s long-term architecture. Users can borrow USD0 at a zero rate, enabling capital-efficient strategies without reflexive emissions incentives.

In practice, UZR also reframes bUSD0 as a zero-coupon bond, a simple maturity-based instrument that replaces earlier, more complex mechanics that created governance-token selling pressure. The result is a cleaner system with a tighter loop, where borrowing demand, liquidity, and fee capture remain inside Usual, supporting TVL concentration and value accrual to the ecosystem.

TL;DR

• UZR is Usual’s first native credit primitive: you can borrow USD0 at zero rate.

• Credit that previously relied on external venues is now internalized via Fira: protocol-owned, DAO-governed, and aligned with Usual’s long-term architecture.

• bUSD0 is repositioned as a zero-coupon bond (discount to par): simpler, more readable mechanics that reduce reflexive incentive dynamics.

• Rollout is progressive: liquidity is added in tranches from Wednesday, January 14, 2026 through Sunday evening, January 18, then scales from Monday, January 19 based on migration demand.

• Euler to Fira migration is available immediately but is one-way only. Fira’s Borrow and Repay UI goes live on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

Why Zero Rate

In DeFi, the rate often becomes a product in itself. Users stop borrowing to deploy capital and start borrowing to play rates, optimize loops, and farm subsidies. The outcome is predictable: opaque execution, incentives captured by farmers, and structural sell pressure on the governance token.

A zero rate is a deliberate choice to break that dynamic. It removes rate speculation from the core product, cleans up the carry trade logic, and ends a governance-token distribution that was primarily captured by farming strategies. Instead, borrowing goes back to what it should be: simple access to credit to put capital to work, with full visibility.

Users can now borrow and lever with a clear understanding of the strategy’s cost and the net return expected at maturity. The only market variable to monitor is the bUSD0 discount on the secondary market if you choose to exit before maturity. Simpler. Clearer.

With UZR:

• Borrowing costs are predictable

• Protocol fees are capped and transparent

• Economic value accrues to the Usual DAO

There is no emissions-driven incentive loop. There is no rate volatility embedded in the core credit path. The system favors clarity over optimization theater.

This design aligns borrowing with use. It simplifies governance and risk evaluation. Credit exists because it is needed, not because it is subsidized.

Internalizing the credit lane

A base layer for future credit

Before UZR, borrowing demand was satisfied via external platforms. While effective, that structure pushed fees and control outside the protocol.

UZR internalizes this function. Credit activity now happens within Usual’s economic perimeter via Fira. This has three implications.

First, protocol revenue remains internal.

Second, parameter control belongs to governance.

Third, future credit extensions can be built without relying on third-party incentives.

This is not a rejection of composability. It is a prerequisite.

UZR is a starting point, not an endpoint.

By establishing a native, zero-rate credit primitive, Usual lays the foundation for more expressive credit markets: fixed-rate instruments, maturity-based borrowing, and structured credit products. All of this becomes possible without re-architecting the base system.

Because the credit lane is protocol-owned, extensions can be added progressively and governed coherently.

A key shift: bUSD0 as a zero-coupon bond

UZR simplifies the system by reframing bUSD0 as a maturity instrument: a zero-coupon bond that moves from discount to par.

Concretely, this delivers:

• A cleaner structure

• A tighter link between borrowing demand, liquidity, and value capture

• Less reliance on mechanisms that historically created indirect market pressure via misaligned incentives

Credit becomes a tighter loop: usage stays inside, and beneficial effects accumulate inside.

UZR Launch: what you need to know

Progressive liquidity deployment in tranches

UZR is rolling out progressively. Liquidity will be added in tranches, not all at once.

The goal is to ensure a stable rollout and reduce risk during the first days of operation.

• Wednesday, January 14, 2026: UZR opens with an initial liquidity tranche

• Through Sunday evening, January 18: additional tranches are added regularly and announced through our usual communication channels

• Starting Monday, January 19: liquidity scales based on migration demand

Each new tranche will be communicated publicly. Some tranches may fill quickly, and additional tranches will be added as needed.

Euler to Fira migration

Migration is available immediately, but it is one-way only.

• Migration path: Euler to Fira only

• Fira’s Borrow and Repay frontend features go live on Thursday, January 22, 2026

• Between now and January 22: users can migrate, but cannot yet borrow or repay via the Fira UI. Direct contract interaction is required during this window

USUAL rewards and the transition window

If liquidity is temporarily limited, users will not be penalized.

• USUAL rewards on USL remain active until Monday, January 19, 2026

• The final distribution follows the usual schedule

• On Euler, the interest rate remains unchanged at 1.5%

In practice, even if migration is gradual, users continue earning rewards on USL until the final distribution.

Who is UZR for?

UZR is built for anyone who wants to use USD0 as working capital, not just as a passive holding.

• Deploy capital without embedding rate speculation into the core credit path

• Run maturity-based strategies with a simple, transparent cost model

• Access credit that is native to the Usual ecosystem, with coherent governance

As always in DeFi, outcomes depend on your position, collateral, and market conditions, especially if you exit before maturity via secondary markets.

Transparency and risks

UZR simplifies the credit lane, but it does not remove risks inherent to DeFi:

• Smart contract risk

• Liquidation risk depending on your collateral and position design

• Liquidity and price risk on secondary markets (bUSD0 discount)

• Operational risk during a progressive rollout period

Usual’s goal is to build finance-grade rails that are readable, governable, and extensible, with a controlled ramp-up.

Conclusion

Usual Zero Rate marks a structural milestone: shifting USD0 from a settlement asset to a capital asset, supported by a native, zero-rate credit primitive.

Zero rate. Maturity-based clarity. Coherent governance. Value captured inside the ecosystem.

This is a foundation, and the base layer on which Usual can build increasingly expressive credit markets without losing what matters most: clarity and alignment.

Check out the migrator here: app.fira.money/migrate