TrueUSD (TUSD) — Complete Guide

TUSD is one of the oldest fiat-backed stablecoins, launched in January 2018 by TrustToken (later Archblock). It was among the first stablecoins to implement real-time on-chain proof-of-reserves via Chainlink's Proof of Reserve feeds. However, TUSD's relevance has declined significantly since 2023 due to issues with its custodian (Prime Trust, which became insolvent) and subsequent de-peg events. As of 2025, TUSD maintains a reduced market cap below $500 million.

TUSD is minted by depositing USD with authorized custodians, historically Prime Trust and more recently Asian-based banking partners. Minting and redemption are handled through the TrueCurrency platform. Chainlink Proof of Reserve oracles are supposed to verify on-chain that total TUSD supply does not exceed held reserves. The protocol experienced issues in 2023 when Prime Trust was placed into receivership, causing temporary minting halts and de-peg events. Reserve attestations are now conducted by independent accounting firms on a regular basis.

• +Chainlink Proof of Reserve integration — on-chain real-time reserve verification
• +Long operational history since 2018 through multiple market cycles
• +Multi-chain deployment across Ethereum, Tron, BNB Chain, and Avalanche
• +Previously top-5 stablecoin at $2B+ market cap demonstrating prior scale
• +TrueFi lending protocol integration enables TUSD-denominated uncollateralized loans
• +Low-cost transactions on Tron make TUSD competitive for remittances

• !Prime Trust insolvency in 2023 caused reserve shortfalls, temporary de-peg, and minting halts
• !Market cap declined from $3B+ to under $500M — significant loss of confidence
• !Current custodian banking relationships are less transparent than Circle or Paxos