How USD.AI Works

Decentralized Stargate: A yield-bearing synthetic dollar backed by Treasuries, AI infrastructure & DePIN network assets

The USD.AI protocol revolves around three key participants:

  1. Depositors — earn yield on their USDC/USDT deposits by minting USDai and staking into sUSDai

  2. Borrowers — typically non-hyperscaler infrastructure operators in need of hardware financing

  3. Curators — provide the first-loss capital, earn associated premiums, and help separate the capital from the operator through tokenization

This structure is unique in that it separates capital from the operator (via CALIBER). Collateralized by the hardware itself, this risk is restructured into a standardized, investable format, much like how mortgage-backed products unlocked the scale of real estate finance. By transforming compute into a credit-ready asset class through this abstraction vehicle, USD.AI opens previously inaccessible capital for long-tail infrastructure, turning an overlooked use case into a new frontier for yield & tax optimization use cases.

The USD.AI protocol is designed around three pillars:

  1. CALIBER — a framework for tokenization or Yield. Creating the ability to tokenize previously un-tokenizable assets

  2. FiLo — a process for risk curation or Scale. Allowing future asset financing demand to be vetted and publicly funded

  3. QEV — a system for liquidity or Redemption. Allowing fair and transparent access to liquidity

Asset and Yield Makeup by Stage (Genesis to Sprawl)

Why have 3 stages? It is because USD.AI is not a credit protocol.

"Credit" by definition examines the ability of a corporation or counterparty to pay down their loan. USD.AI does not extend loans to businesses or individuals — it provides liquidity to the asset itself. Much like how Aave does not care who you are, they only care about what you deposited. Example of excluded financings include:

  • Purchase order financing (supply chain loans)

  • Business loans

    • Revolving Credit Facilities

    • Term loans

  • Capital leases (asset backed financing, but ownership is under the name of the borrower on their balance sheet)

  • Loans

As a result of an extremely strict collateralization processes, there is a natural lag in terms of when the asset is created by the Original Equipment Manufacturer ("OEM") and when it is tokenized through the CALIBER standard, and thereby removed from the balance sheet of the borrower.

This explains why we have a Stage 1 -> Stage 2. due to the design of CALIBER and the physical nature of hardware, there is a time delay. Solving the chicken and egg problem of doing a loan through the USDai protocol (this is why the Cores initiative has started, see here:)

During this lead time, the cash is held in US Treasury Bills to avoid cash drag, with the addition of Cores (Points) to help bridge the liquidity gap. As a result there is no real "credit."

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