Frequently asked questions
Basics
Who issues $M?
Minters mint $M on the M^0 protocol. These Minters (stablecoin issuers) could be financial institutions, crypto-native institutions or other stablecoin issuers, who are able to abide by network requirements and comply with relevant local regulations.
What is a Earner?
A Earner within the M^0 ecosystem is simply addresses approved by the TTG to earn the Earner Rate.
What is a Validator?
A Validator on the M^0 protocol is an independent entity permissioned by governance to provide timely information about the off-chain collateral used by Minters to generate $M.
What is a Minter?
A Minter is an entity that connects to the M^0 protocol and is permissioned by governance to manage the supply of $M. The M^0 protocol has been specifically designed to support multiple Minters.
What is $M?
$M is M^0’s canonical stablecoin building block, over-collateralized, backed by safe assets such as U.S. Treasury bills, and validated by independent entities. $M is designed to be safe, programmable, and interoperable, allowing developers to extend it and customize it for specific applications while ensuring seamless integration with other $M-powered stablecoins.
What is M^0?
M^0 is stablecoin infrastructure designed to power the next generation of finance. It enables developers and businesses to integrate and build programmable, interoperable, and safe digital dollars. M^0 serves as a foundational building block for builders to customize $M into branded stablecoins with tailored features.
Operations
Can M^0 support new forms of collateral?
Yes. Ecosystem participants can propose new forms of eligible collateral which can be voted on by Governors. Currently, $M is backed by short-term U.S. Treasury bills.
Is M^0 affected by traditional banking system failures?
Not exactly. Unlike centralized stablecoins that rely on fractional-reserve commercial banking partners, M^0 minimizes banking system exposure by using bankruptcy-remote SPVs to manage collateral stored with custodian banks.
What networks does M^0 support?
The M^0 protocol is operational on Ethereum. $M is canonically minted and burned on Ethereum, but it has EVM compatibility as well as Solana versions. M^0’s cross-chain architecture leverages Wormhole messaging solutions to ensure that $M can be wrapped and used across different ecosystems.
How is $M redeemed?
A permissioned Minter can receive an existing amount of $M from a counterparty. The Minter initially interacts with the M^0 protocol to burn that amount of $M. The Minter then interacts with the protocol again requesting to retrieve collateral. The M^0 protocol will validate this request against protocol rules, and if valid will return a retrieval identifier. The Minter can then interact with the operator of an Eligible Custody Solution, present the valid retrieval identifier, and request that the proper amount of collateral be redeemed. Finally, the Minter must interact with a permissioned Validator in order to check the updated off-chain collateral balance and sign a message confirming this to be factual. The Minter then updates this signed information with the M^0 protocol.
How is $M issued?
In order to generate $M, a permissioned Minter must have a sufficient off-chain balance of Eligible Collateral. The Minter interacts with a permissioned Validator that can check such off-chain collateral balance and sign a message confirming this to be factual. The Minter then updates this signed information with the M^0 protocol (Minters must perform this action routinely). Once the Minter has collateral that is verified, they can interact with the protocol to propose minting an amount of $M that is within their available collateral. When there are no objections, the Minter can interact with the M^0 protocol one final time to effectively mint the proposed amount of $M. They are then free to sell that $M to counterparties.
Collateral
What is an Eligible Custody Solution?
A set of entity structures, jurisdictions, contractual agreements, and other details that are sufficient for the custody of Eligible Collateral. The guidance from governance will likely be that these solutions need to be structured as orphaned special purpose vehicles (SPVs) domiciled in approved jurisdictions.
What is Eligible Collateral?
Eligible Collateral is a description of portfolio composition that can be locked in Eligible Custody Solutions and be used to mint $M. One can assume that guidance at launch will be such that 30-90 day US Government T-bills are considered Eligible Collateral.
Governance
What are ZERO tokens?
ZERO tokens are held by governors, who comparatively to POWER holders are passive in the voting process (only voting on important changes). Governors ultimately use $ZERO holding to safeguard the system against corruption, and have the ability to reset the POWER token supply, stripping POWER holders of their voting rights.
What are POWER tokens?
POWER tokens are used by holders to vote on active proposals and can be considered the primary management token of the Two Token Governor (TTG) mechanism. POWER holders will earn ZERO tokens in exchange for their direct participation in governance.
How is M^0 governed?
The M^0 protocol uses a new on-chain governance mechanism called Two Token Governor (TTG). TTG is used to vote on proposals seeking to manage various inputs such as governance parameters, protocol parameters and lists of permissioned actors. TTG is a mechanism by which holders of the voting tokens are penalized for failing to vote. There are two utility tokens used in the M^0 TTG: POWER and ZERO. POWER holders will earn ZERO in exchange for their direct participation in governance.
For more information on M^0 Governance please check the documentation portal.
Company
How can I stay updated on M^0's latest research and news?
You can subscribe to M^0 Research and join our community on X and Linkedin to stay updated on the latest developments in our ecosystem.
What is M^0 Foundation?
The M^0 Foundation focuses on the protocol's governance and ecosystem development.
What is M^0 Labs?
M^0 Labs builds software solutions for the M^0 ecosystem, the stablecoin infrastructure enabling developers and businesses to integrate and build programmable, interoperable, and safe digital dollars.
Who are M^0’s Leadership team?
The M^0 executive team brings a wealth of experience from both traditional finance and the DeFi space. Luca Prosperi, Co-Founder and CEO, has a 20-year track record in financial intermediaries and was instrumental in lending oversight at MakerDAO. Greg Di Prisco, Co-Founder and Chief Architect, previously led business development at MakerDAO and co-founded Ajna Labs and Distributed Capital Partners. Joao Reginatto, Chief Strategy Officer, has deep expertise in stablecoins, including leading the development of USDC and EURC at Circle.
Product
Can I mint $M directly as an individual?
No, $M can only be minted by permissioned Minters approved through M^0 governance. These entities are typically financial institutions, stablecoin issuers, or organizations meeting collateral standards.
What are some use cases for $M?
$M can be used as a building block for stablecoin builders, programmable payments, DeFi integrations, cross-border transfers, and as a reserve asset for other stablecoins. Its flexibility and composability make it suitable for a wide range of financial applications.
How does M^0 enable stablecoin interoperability?
M^0’s infrastructure guarantees native interoperability between stablecoins built as $M extensions. Through composable wrapping and unwrapping operations, these stablecoins can be minted, redeemed, and integrated across wallets, DeFi protocols, and on/off-ramps, ensuring unified liquidity and reducing fragmentation.
What can I customize with $M Extensions?
With $M Extensions, you can:
- Add your brand to your stablecoin
- Define compliance features like allow-lists or pause/freeze mechanisms.
- Implement custom yield distribution logic to control how collateral yields are utilized
- Ensure seamless interoperability across platforms with 1:1 convertibility to $M
What are M^0’s $M extensions?
$M Extensions are customizable stablecoins built on top of M^0's canonical stablecoin building block, $M. These extensions allow developers and businesses to create branded, feature-rich digital dollars tailored to their specific needs while maintaining full interoperability within the M^0 network.