Polkadot Launches dotUSD Stablecoin Under OpenGov Governance

Polkadot launched dotUSD on its mainnet Oct. 8, introducing a protocol-native stablecoin with no private issuer and governance controlled through the network’s OpenGov system.

OpenGov Referendum 1944 authorized the asset’s creation, including $2.5 million in Tether (USDT) for minting and $2.5 million in Polkadot (DOT) for an initial DOT-dotUSD liquidity pool.

During the first phase, users can mint dotUSD one-for-one against USDT, subject to a supply cap, and redeem it for $1 worth of USDT. The initial design does not use price oracles, vaults or liquidation mechanisms.

A later phase is planned to allow users to lock DOT as collateral to mint dotUSD. That stage would add price oracles, vaults, liquidations, a stability pool and redemption features.

The referendum passed with 98.5% of votes cast in favor, including approximately 4.63 million DOT voting Aye and 70,810 DOT voting Nay. The rollout makes dotUSD a governance-approved asset operating through on-chain logic rather than a private issuing company.