- Polkadot has opened voting on DOT-backed pUSD amid strong support and sharp criticism.
- The previous failed aUSD stablecoin project raises doubts over governance and technical trust.
- Polkadot founder Gavin Wood is pushing the stablecoin strategy to steady validator rewards.
The Polkadot community is weighing one of its most consequential proposals to date, a plan to launch a native stablecoin backed entirely by DOT tokens.
Known as pUSD, the project is being debated through an on-chain referendum that has quickly attracted strong interest, passionate support, and sharp criticism in equal measure.
Polkadot’s push for a native stablecoin
The proposal was introduced by Bryan Chen, co-founder and chief technology officer of Acala, through RFC-155.
The proposal aims to deploy a DOT-backed stablecoin on Polkadot’s Asset Hub, utilising the Honzon protocol.
For reference, Honzon previously powered Acala’s failed aUSD stablecoin, a connection that has fueled both technical optimism and community mistrust.
Chen has argued that Polkadot must have a native, decentralised stablecoin to reduce reliance on USDT and USDC, which dominate the ecosystem with a combined market share of more than $74 million.
Without such a move, Chen warned, the network risks losing liquidity and strategic advantages to competing chains that already feature their own native stablecoins.
At the time of writing, more than 74.6% of votes are cast in favour of the measure, though it has not yet reached the 79.7% approval threshold required for passage.
Over $5.6 million worth of DOT, amounting to more than 1.4 million tokens, has already been committed to the vote.
The vote remains open for another three weeks, ensuring that the outcome is far from certain.
Acala’s memories and community doubts
While the case for a DOT-backed stablecoin is clear to many, memories of Acala’s collapse in 2022 still hang over the debate.
Acala’s aUSD project was crippled after an exploit, leading to a loss of trust and financial damage that rippled across the ecosystem.
Critics argue that no one involved with Acala should be tasked with launching another stablecoin, no matter the technical merits of the underlying protocol.
Some of the network’s most vocal participants have voted against the measure, pointing to the risk of repeating past mistakes.
The group known as TheGlobedotters stated that Acala should never again be entrusted with a strategic project of this scale, while others stressed the need for strict oversight from Polkadot’s Technical Fellowship before any stablecoin could be deployed.
The White Rabbit, another community member, opposed the proposal but suggested they could support it under conditions that explicitly exclude Acala from development and guarantee robust governance safeguards.
Gavin Wood outlines the broader vision for Polkadot
Polkadot founder Gavin Wood has added weight to the conversation by articulating a wider strategy for stablecoins within the ecosystem.
Earlier this month, Wood argued that Polkadot must pursue multiple approaches, including fully collateralised native stablecoins and what he termed “stable-ish” assets designed to reduce, but not eliminate, DOT’s volatility.
Wood also highlighted validator incentives as a key consideration. He has floated the idea of paying validators directly in a DOT-backed stablecoin such as pUSD, instead of volatile DOT rewards.
This shift, Wood argued, would stabilise validator income, attract institutional participants, and strengthen the network’s long-term security model.
Under the design, DOT would be used as collateral, and PUSD would be minted against it with liquidation mechanisms ensuring the peg remains intact.
Supporters say this could solve a long-standing problem of validator earnings fluctuating sharply as DOT’s price swings.
