Polkadot’s Largest DeFi Protocol Hydration Launches Decentralized Stablecoin

Hydration, the largest Polkadot-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol by total value locked (TVL), has launched its native stablecoin, HOLLAR, today, Sept. 22.

According to a press release viewed by The Defiant, HOLLAR is designed as a decentralized, over-collateralized stablecoin — meaning the value of its reserves is more than the stablecoin’s circulating supply — backed by a basket of cryptocurrencies, including Polkadot’s native token DOT, Ether (ETH), and Bitcoin (BTC). DOT is currently changing hands around $4, down about 7% on the day.

HOLLAR’s Stability Module provides real-time price support and partial liquidations to protect user positions. The stablecoin also integrates with Hydration’s trading, lending, and staking products.

The launch comes as the stablecoin sector continues to grow. Total market capitalization is nearly $293 billion, up 69% from this time last year, according to DefiLlama.

The team behind HOLLAR pointed to the risks of traditional stablecoins in the press release, raising concerns around centralization and reliance on the traditional banking system. HOLLAR aims to differentiate itself as a safer, fully decentralized alternative, they said.

“The DeFi space deserves better than half-baked experiments or centralized compromises,” said Jakub Gregus, founder of Hydration “HOLLAR represents a reimagining of what stablecoins can achieve when you control the entire execution environment, rather than being constrained by generalized smart contract environments.”

The initial supply is capped at 2,000,000 HOLLAR, the press release states, and users can mint the asset at a 5% annual borrow rate.

“I’m looking forward to the release of HOLLAR and making sure it is well integrated with the direction of using stablecoins where they need to be used,” Dr. Gavin Wood, creator of Polkadot, was quoted as saying in the release: “I particularly like Hollar because it’s decentralized and uses DOT as collateral. I prefer to use something like HOLLAR over USDC or USDT by a massive margin.”

Hydration is by far the largest Polkadot DeFi protocol, with over $330 million locked on the protocol, followed by Moonbeam at about $9 million. Polkadot, known as a Layer 0 chain, is currently the 36th largest blockchain by market capitalization, at around $6 billion.

Tether’s USDT remains the largest stablecoin globally, with a market capitalization of $172 billion, followed by Circle’s USDC at nearly $74 billion. Most recently, Tether announced USAT, its American-focused stablecoin.