Neutrl is a decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that issues NUSD, a market-neutral synthetic dollar. It is designed to generate yield by capitalizing on opportunities in over-the-counter (OTC) and altcoin markets, including OTC arbitrage and funding rate inefficiencies. The protocol aims to provide a single access point for capital allocators to access hedged, on-chain yield strategies. ^{[1] [2]}​

Overview

Neutrl was developed to address what its founders described as a lack of sustainable, "real yield" in the DeFi sector, which they believed was overly reliant on inflationary token-based incentives. The protocol was inspired by the design of Ethena's USDe, which tokenized the basis trade strategy for major cryptocurrencies. Neutrl sought to expand on this concept by tokenizing a broader range of hedge-fund-style strategies. The core value proposition of Neutrl is to make private, sophisticated trading strategies accessible to a public, on-chain audience. By employing delta-neutral positioning, the protocol seeks to generate yield that is uncorrelated with the directional movements of the broader crypto market. Neutrl differentiates itself from other synthetic dollar projects by making hedged OTC deals its primary yield source, with liquid strategies like basis trading serving as a secondary yield source and a liquidity management tool. ^{[1] [3]}

Neutrl has also secured external funding to support its development. In April 2025, the protocol raised $5 million in a seed funding round led by the digital asset private placement market STIX and the venture firm Accomplice, with participation from Amber Group, SCB Limited, Figment Capital, Nascent, and individual investors including founders and derivatives traders from the broader crypto ecosystem. The funding round was aimed at advancing the project’s efforts to tokenize hedge-fund-style trading strategies and make them accessible in the form of a single token. ^[3]

Token Ecosystem

The Neutrl protocol features two primary tokens: NUSD, the synthetic dollar, and sNUSD, its yield-bearing counterpart. ^[4]​

NUSD (Neutrl USD)

NUSD is a synthetic dollar backed by a portfolio of yield-bearing crypto assets and their corresponding short futures positions. It is distinct from fiat-collateralized stablecoins like USDC, as its backing and risk profile are derived from the protocol's market-neutral trading strategies. ^[5]​

Minting

The process of creating NUSD is permissionless. Users can mint NUSD on a 1:1 dollar value basis by depositing approved liquid assets, which include USDC, USDT, and USDe, into the protocol's smart contracts. NUSD can also be acquired on secondary markets such as Curve Finance. ^[5]​

Redemption

Redeeming NUSD for its underlying collateral is also a permissioned process. Only counterparties that have completed the protocol's Know Your Business (KYB) and Know Your Customer (KYC) procedures are eligible to redeem NUSD directly. Approved users can burn their NUSD to receive an equivalent value of USDC, USDT, or USDe on a 1:1 basis. ^[5]​

sNUSD (Staked Neutrl USD)

sNUSD is the primary yield-bearing token in the Neutrl ecosystem. It is a liquid staking token that represents a user's proportional share of the NUSD held within the Neutrl staking vault. All yield generated by the protocol's strategies is distributed to sNUSD holders. ^[6]​

Staking and Yield Accrual

To acquire sNUSD, users deposit NUSD into the protocol's staking contract. At the protocol's launch, the exchange rate was 1 NUSD for 1 sNUSD. The yield generated by Neutrl's strategies continuously flows into the staking vault in the form of NUSD. This increases the total amount of NUSD in the vault while the supply of sNUSD changes only through staking and unstaking. As a result, the value of each sNUSD token appreciates relative to NUSD over time. This automatic appreciation means users accrue yield passively. ^[6]​

Unstaking

To convert sNUSD back to NUSD, users must initiate an unstaking process, which involves burning their sNUSD. The user then receives a proportional amount of NUSD from the vault based on the current sNUSD:NUSD exchange rate. This process includes a mandatory 10-day cooldown period. This delay gives the protocol sufficient time to unwind collateral and market positions to ensure it has enough liquidity to meet the redemption request. ^[6]​