A new inflation-linked stablecoin called USDi has launched to offer crypto investors a store of value that tracks the U.S. Consumer Price Index, as the latest data shows inflation accelerating to 0.9% on the back of surging oil prices.
“The stablecoin boom has accidentally rebuilt only half of the monetary system,” Michael Ashton, co-founder of USDi, said in an interview. “Stablecoins solved the medium-of-exchange problem for crypto, but nobody solved the store-of-value problem. USDi is the first serious attempt to finish building the monetary system onchain."
Unlike dollar-pegged tokens that dominate the $300 billion stablecoin market, USDi’s value is designed to increase in line with CPI changes. Its reserves are invested in a private fund using Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS), U.S. debt, and commodity futures to generate returns that track inflation. Ashton notes that while T-bills yield around 3.5 percent, persistent inflation, which is currently around 3 percent, can outpace short-term rates, eroding the real value of traditional stablecoins.
The project, which is already live, aims to fill a structural gap for a true store of value on-chain, with plans for a $1.5 million seed funding round in the coming months. By offering a blockchain-native version of an inflation-protected instrument, USDi could provide a crucial hedging tool for corporate treasurers and institutions holding stablecoin float who are exposed to inflation risk.
The urgency for such a product has been highlighted by recent market volatility. Oil prices have surged from over $80 to above $100 a barrel since the outbreak of the Iran war, stoking inflation by increasing costs across the economy. The conflict threatens the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint for about 20 percent of the world's oil supply, embedding a persistent war premium in energy markets. This dynamic contributed to U.S. inflation jumping to 0.9% last month, a sharp increase from February's 0.3% rise.
Beyond tracking headline CPI, USDi plans to introduce customizable inflation exposure, a feature difficult to replicate in traditional finance. Ashton said the architecture could allow users to isolate and hedge against specific inflation components, such as health-care or tuition costs.
This flexibility is designed to attract institutional adopters, particularly insurance and reinsurance companies. These firms face direct risk from rising costs in specific sectors but lack precise tools to hedge that exposure. "There’s never really been a direct hedge for something like health-care inflation,” Ashton said. “If you can hedge that exposure more precisely, you can reduce the capital you need to hold." He expects insurers to be among the first institutional users.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
