MarginFi To Launch Solana LST-Backed Decentralized Stablecoin This Month

MarginFi, the sixth-largest DeFi protocol on Solana by TVL, announced it expects to launch XBY, its yield-accruing decentralized stablecoin, this month.

Speaking during the Solana Crossroads 2024 conference, MacBrennan Peet, the co-founder of MarginFi, said his team is in the process of wrapping up the second audit for XBY and aims to launch the stablecoin before June.

Peet said XBY will be entirely collateralized by SOL-based liquid staking protocols (LSTs), providing Solana with a decentralized stablecoin that can offset the network’s reliance on USDC, the second-largest centralized stablecoin.

“Solana DeFi as a whole right now is completely reliant on USDC,” Peet said. “If USDC depegged like it did a year ago and stayed depegged, Solana DeFi would be in a really rough spot — USDC underlines all major trading pairs.”

He added that the project has already secured roughly $12 million in initially committed liquidity, and hopes to attract more than $100 million before launching.

The news of XBY’s impending launch comes one month after MarginFi’s co-founder and CEO, Edgar Pavlovsky, abruptly resigned from the project. The move appeared to result from an apparent disagreement over whether the project should launch a governance token despite early users already accruing points — which typically qualify holders for future airdrops.

Many MarginFi users rushed to remove their assets from the protocol in response to Pavlovsky stepping down, with more than $300 million or close to half of MarginFi’s TVL leaving the protocol over just a few days.

However, Peet said Pavlosky’s exit was not due to differences over whether the project would launch a token, instead attributing the decision to the stress demands placed on Pavlovsky as CEO.

“There wasn’t really any disagreements over a token,” Peet said. “It’s really stressful — this is a 24/7 job, there’s no weekends in building an on-chain finance protocol.”

Peet also confirmed that MarginFi will launch a governance token in the future and is quietly working on building out its governance token.

“MarginFi is designed to be decentralized, to have a token,” Peet said. “The Margin Foundation isn’t as interested in putting out a token just for the sake of putting out a token. We’re interested in having a token where it means something and where it has embedded real governance weight.”

Peet added that the heavy withdrawals comprised robust “stress-testing” for MarginFi, with the protocol continuing to operate smoothly despite the heavy withdrawals.

XBY stablecoin

XBY will comprise a rebasing stablecoin, meaning users’ balances will increase as yield is accrued to the token.

XBY yields will initially come from the staking rewards generated from the token’s LST collateral, with holders also set to earn MarginFi lending yields at a later date. Peet noted that MarginFi users have already deposited “hundreds of millions of dollars in LSTs” onto the protocol that can be used as collateral for XBY minting from the moment the protocol is live.

Peet said that “major protocols and DEXes” within Solana’s DeFi ecosystem plan to support XBY, providing additional opportunities for users to generate yield.

Peet acknowledged that XBY’s market cap will be constrained by the capitalization of SOL-based LSTs, adding that MarginFi intends to expand its supported collateral in the future.

“We’re very focused on starting with LSTs, but that doesn’t mean doesn’t mean we can’t expand outside of that,” Peet said. “There’s a lot of other options outside of USDT or USDC, for example, in terms of forms of collateral.”

Peet also revealed that MarginFI plans to launch the first “integrated stableswap” feature following XBY’s deployment. The product will allow users to trade between stablecoins using the existing liquidity deposited in MarginFi, meaning users will simultaneously earn lending yields and swap fees.