Umoja Protocol and Merlin Chain are thrilled to announce a groundbreaking strategic partnership aimed at revolutionizing the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem. This collaboration merges Umoja's cutting-edge approach to democratizing wealth creation through asset management with Merlin Chain's innovative Bitcoin (BTC) Layer 2 solutions. By combining forces, we are poised to redefine the landscape of DeFi, bringing the future of finance to the present.

Together, this summer, we will launch $USDb —the world’s first Bitcoin high-yield synthetic dollar. This collaboration marks a significant milestone in the evolution of smart money and blockchain technology, presenting a new pathway for investing in crypto that extends beyond just Bitcoin ETFs. By offering a stable, yield-generating investment vehicle that is accessible and simplified, $USDb aims to bring the benefits of crypto investment to everyone, making it an essential tool not only for crypto enthusiasts but also for retail investors seeking to lock in their gains and diversify their portfolios simultaneously.

Merlin Chain’s native BTC Layer 2 solution is generating a lot of excitement across the crypto community, demonstrating the untapped potential within the Bitcoin network. With $3.6 billion in total value locked (TVL) shortly after its launch, Merlin Chain is already supporting the Bitcoin ecosystem's growth with its scalable, secure, and efficient transactions for BTC-native projects.

Umoja, crypto’s asset factory, is capable of creating any digital asset through tokenized trading strategies called Synths that produce higher yields and better protection than anywhere else in crypto. Synths, or 'synthetics', are specialized tokens that replicate the functions of traditional financial instruments and DeFi strategies. They do this by participating in derivatives trading on centralized exchanges and carrying out operations within well-known DeFi protocols. Similar to how Ethena uses a delta-neutral trading strategy via centralized exchanges (CEXs) to create a synthetic ETH denominated dollar, Umoja combines a variety of perpetual (perps) trading strategies via CEXs to create a synthetic dollar on Bitcoin with greater model improvements to prevent risks like negative funding rate drops.

Bridging The ROI Paywall with Merlin Chain

The world has no universally accessible, censorship-resistant method for wealth creation, and retail investors have always been paywalled from the largest opportunities.

Even in crypto, retail is at the whim of hedge funds and high-net worth individuals, taking up most of the liquidity rewards and arbitrage opportunities, leaving everyone else with the bear market losses.

Umoja enables a world where anyone, anywhere, and anytime can build wealth by customizing extremely high-performing assets, making wealth creation tools universally accessible for the first time in human history. This tool dismantles the 'ROI Paywall Problem'—the barrier that has kept millions of retail investors from accessing major wealth creation opportunities traditionally reserved for high-net-worth individuals and institutions for decades.

$USDb: Where Stability Meets High Yield

$USDb operates with a sophisticated mechanism that pools Bitcoin assets to generate yields, all while keeping its value securely pegged to the US dollar. By combining DeFi strategies and Merlin Chain's Layer 2 capabilities, $USDb offers stability and high returns, ensuring that holders benefit from both price stability and attractive passive income.

Merlin’s forward-thinking team and community, as well as the chain’s features of robustness, security, and deep integration within the Bitcoin ecosystem, makes it the ideal platform for launching a synthetic dollar like $USDb. Merlin’s ability to also attract significant TVL while fostering a vibrant community of BTC enthusiasts will help ensure both Umoja and $USDb's success.

Founder of Umoja, Robby Greenfield elaborated:“I chose Merlin not only because of its commitment to the growth and development of the BTC ecosystem, but also because the most decentralized, accessible, lowest risk, and highest-yielding money will become the most adopted– and such money must be built on Bitcoin.”

Try Synths For Yourself

As we unveil $USDb early this summer, we invite Bitcoiners, degens, and retail investors alike to confidently start with ‘the now’ of finance. Currently Umoja has Synth Options available where you can run a can BOOST+ (Synthetic Call Option) or HEDGE (Synthetic Put Options). Synth Options work by requiring the prospective option holder to provide a small amount of collateral instead of paying a premium upfront in the usual way. This collateral is used to start the trading strategy.

And the cherry on top? You don't even need the particular asset to start, just USDC (on Arbitrum).

**Get started here.

(Every person who participates in Umoja’s Beta will be rewarded and be eligible for Umoja’s Airdrop!)