Risks

USDM was built to be the safest asset in crypto.

This page provides transparency on the risks involved and the mitigating strategies Mountain Protocol takes to reduce such risks. This disclosure can help current and prospective USDM holders understand their risk level compared to other on and off-chain alternatives.

Users should do their own research when deciding to purchase any digital asset. If you have questions about these risks, please contact us at [e-mail].

Collateral/solvency

US debt default

USDM Reserves are invested only in short-term (3mo or less) US Treasuries risk.

These assets are considered the lowest risk USD-denominated assets. However, these assets rely on the US continuing to service its debt, a systemic risk present in most modern financial instruments.

Interest rate

USDM Reserves are over-collateralized to ensure solvency even in an interest rate scenario. However, interest rates are unpredictable and accelerated interest hikes could reduce the value of the portfolio which, coupled with a bank run, could result in impairment of USDM.

Such interest rate hikes would need to be over 200bps in a short period (~6 weeks).

Liquidity

24/7 redemption availability

Mountain Protocol provides 24/7 liquidity to primary customers via a USDC-denominated line of credit. If net withdrawals are higher than the available liquidity, withdrawal times will default to T+2 business days, in line with Traditional Financial markets.

There is no limit to the amount of funds that can be withdrawn on a T+2 business day timeline.

Financial partner uptime

Mountain Protocol is built on top of enterprise-grade partners, providing Service Level Agreements (SLA) of 99%+. However, the uptime of services of such partners is not guaranteed.

Mountain Protocol reserves the right to delay liquidity in the rare occurrences when partners' services are interrupted.

Counterparty risk

Mountain Protocol is built with minimal counterparty risk, leveraging regulated financial partners whenever possible.

Main counterparties include:

• Custodians

• Brokers

• Banks

• Onramps (e.g. Coinbase Prime)

In the rare cases where Mountain Protocol determines that counterparties are facing potential risks, measures may be applied to mitigate placing USDM Reserves at risk. These measures might include the temporary pausing of purchase and redemption of USDM.

Market

Secondary market pricing

Due to the permissionless nature of USDM as an ERC20 token, we expect trading venues to open for USDM against other digital assets and/or fiat. The pricing of USDM in these venues might differ from $1.

Secondary market pricing for USDM might vary due to lack of liquidity, failure of arbitrageurs or market makers working in such pools, technological risks, and oracle manipulations or other types of attacks.

The Company is not liable for losses related to secondary market pricing risks.

Non-endorsement of 3rd party protocols

Due to the permissionless nature of USDM as an ERC20 token, we expect protocols to build with USDM. This does not mean an endorsement of such protocols, and users should do their own research before interacting with such protocols. Although Mountain Protocol may engage in co-marketing campaigns with other protocols, such marketing does not endorse the safe use of those platforms. It should not be seen as a guarantee of the safety of such protocols.

The Company will not be liable for losses related to using USDM in 3rd party protocols, including hacks or any other losses that could materialize.

Digital assets

Blockchain

Transactions in the blockchain are irreversible. This means that once you submit an order, whether in the Mountain Protocol platform or the blockchain, the Company or the network will execute such order on your behalf.

The Company is not responsible for losses related to errors in orders initiated by users.

Authentication and private keys

Users are the sole responsible for keeping their platform credentials and private keys secure. Users are also responsible for other users they share those credentials too, whether that is by adding additional users in the platform or by sharing signing privileges.

The Company is not responsible for losses arising from login credential security compromises, transactions initiated by users added by the account opener, or loss or mismanagement of private keys.

Technology

Mountain Protocol's technology was designed to minimize the surface area for attacks. In the front, the smart contract is a simple ERC20, audited, and battle-tested contract. In the back, Mountain Protocol leverages banking-grade technology, protected from external access, making it hard for attackers to penetrate.

Smart contract

The USDM smart contract, described in the USDM Token section, is a modified version of the battle-tested ERC20 canonical implementation to enable rebasing and has been audited by Open Zeppelin, a leading audit firm.

However, no software product is ever risk-free. The USDM smart contract is public; more information can be found here. The Company suggests that users conduct their own research before purchasing any digital assets, including USDM.

Management and Directors

At Mountain Protocol, we acknowledge that centralized protocols require higher trust assumptions than those necessary for decentralized protocols, especially for Management and Directors of the Company.

The Company implements several strategies to mitigate the risks arising from centralization, including:

• Regulatory oversight by the Bermuda Monetary Authority.

• A bankruptcy-remote "USDM Reserve" setup.

• Proof of reserves and monthly attestations.

• Requiring an external signer to sign large transactions and changes in Transaction Approval Policy (TAP), which protects users from collusion from executives or directors.

• Delegation of management of "USDM Reserves" to a licensed Investment Manager.

• Whitelisting bank accounts where "USDM Reserves" can be transferred to.

• Public disclosure of Directors and Management identities.

Users should conduct their own research before engaging with any digital asset, including USDM. If you have more questions during your process, reach out to [e-mail] and talk with our team about the product setup and specific concerns.

If you have suggestions on how to further mitigate USDM risks or any other aspect of the management of USDM in general, please contact us at [e-mail].