# Minting USDu
## Overview
USDu is a digital dollar issued by Unitas and backed by a delta-neutral strategy. The protocol separates user access from collateral operations to ensure orderly capital flows and risk management.
Most users do not mint USDu directly. Instead, they acquire USDu through secondary markets. Direct minting and redemption are restricted to whitelisted participants.
This design allows Unitas to control collateral inflow, hedging operations, and liquidity management without exposing users to operational complexity.
### Who Can Mint USDu
Only whitelisted addresses are permitted to mint or redeem USDu. These participants typically include liquidity managers, protocol controlled accounts, or partners responsible for maintaining market depth.
Regular users acquire USDu through swaps on supported liquidity venues, including the Unitas application and decentralized exchanges.
Minting occurs in two scenarios:
* When secondary market liquidity is insufficient to support demand
* When a whitelisted participant deposits capital directly into the protocol to avoid slippage
In both cases, minting adds new USDu into circulation while ensuring that corresponding collateral enters the asset flow.
### Adding Collateral
When a whitelisted participant mints USDu, they deposit USDC into the protocol. This USDC becomes the backing for newly issued USDu and is routed through the Unitas asset flow.
From this point forward, the protocol manages allocation, custody, hedging, and yield generation automatically.
### Mint Asset Flow
Once USDC enters the system, it is processed through two coordinated paths designed to generate yield while maintaining delta neutrality.
#### **1. Strategy Deployment**
Deposited USDC is allocated across a basket of delta-neutral strategies.
A portion of capital is deployed into liquidity provisioning positions such as JLP, which act as collateral and generate revenue from trading activity.
Other allocations may include positions designed to capture funding rates and additional yield sources across supported integrations.
Collateral assets generate revenue from:
* Trading fees
* Trader PnL
* Funding payments
* Liquidations
Revenue from all strategies is aggregated and contributes to protocol yield distributed to sUSDu.
#### **2. Hedging and Custody**
Capital allocated to hedging is routed to [institutional custody](https://docs.unitas.so/off-exchange-settlement) through Ceffu.
Funds remain segregated and are mirrored to the protocol’s Binance sub-account via [MirrorX](https://www.ceffu.com/solutions/mirrorx).
This capital is used as margin for short perpetual positions that offset the price exposure of underlying collateral assets. Hedge size is determined by the exposure of each strategy and adjusted continuously to maintain alignment. Margin levels and exposure are monitored in real time.
#### **3. Resulting Position**
After deployment and hedging, the protocol holds:
* Collateral positions across multiple strategies
* Hedge margin in segregated institutional custody
* Short perpetual positions offsetting asset exposure
All of the onchain multising addresses can be found on the [transparency dashboard](https://app.unitas.so/dashboard/transparency).
### Yield Routing
Revenue generated by the strategy flows into the protocol and is distributed according to system rules. Majority of the revenue (80%) is deposited into the staking contract, increasing the value of sUSDu overtime.
An additional portion (20%) is allocated to the protocol treasury along with an insurance fund, which acts as a buffer during periods of negative funding rates or in case the strategy incurs losses.
### Liquidity Management
Unitas actively monitors USDu liquidity across supported markets. If imbalances occur, the protocol can mint or redeem USDu through whitelisted accounts to restore depth and ensure smooth user access.
This mechanism allows USDu to maintain reliable market liquidity without exposing users to redemption risk or operational delays.
### Summary
Minting USDu is a controlled process that prioritizes solvency, transparency and risk management.
Whitelisted participants deposit collateral into the protocol. The protocol allocates that collateral across yield-generating and hedging strategies, maintains institutional-grade custody and routes revenue to sUSDu holders.
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