Proposal | Add USDC/sUSDat Pool to Gauge Controller

Gauge Proposals
1

Summary:

Saturn is requesting that Curve Finance add the USDC/sUSDat pool to the Gauge Controller so it can receive CRV token emissions. sUSDat is Saturn’s yield-bearing stablecoin that accrues returns from STRC - a preferred equity instrument issued by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy). The pool is intended to serve as the primary deep liquidity venue for sUSDat on-chain, supporting integrations across lending protocols, yield marketplaces, and risk tranching platforms.

References/Useful links:

Pool deployed: 0x6206ca315c2fcdd2a857b47efb285aa12c529a7a

Gauge deployed: 0xf3d9c7903efd23c8c7dcf298f80a4186b8386d07

• Website: https://saturn.credit

• Documentation: https://saturncredit.gitbook.io/saturn-docs

• Github Page: https://github.com/saturn-organization

• Communities: https://x.com/saturn_credit

• TG Community: https://t.me/+5JnV-oTxzpFlNjlh

Protocol Description:

Saturn is a yield-bearing stablecoin protocol built around two core assets:

USDat is a USD-pegged stablecoin backed by tokenized U.S. Treasuries, built on the M0 framework. It is designed for payments, settlements, and DeFi liquidity, and can be minted and redeemed 1:1 for USDC or other supported stablecoins. All capital backing USDat is held directly in the USDat smart contract and is verifiable onchain at any time.

sUSDat is the yield-bearing form of USDat. When users stake USDat, the protocol deploys capital into STRC - a preferred equity instrument issued by Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) that trades on Nasdaq and pays a dividend classified as a return on capital. sUSDat accrues this yield, with its exchange rate calculated dynamically onchain as total NAV (USDat balance + value of STRC held) divided by total sUSDat supply. sUSDat currently targets a base yield of 12-15% APY, sourced from STRC’s 11.5% annualized dividend and residual T-bill yield on uninvested USDat.

The USDC/sUSDat pool complements the existing USDC/USDat pool by providing a direct liquidity venue for sUSDat, enabling users to enter and exit sUSDat positions with minimal friction and without needing to separately acquire USDat first.

Motivation:

Adding the USDC/sUSDat gauge establishes a direct liquidity layer for Saturn’s yield-bearing stablecoin on Ethereum. Deep sUSDat liquidity on Curve is important for protocol composability: it supports integrations with lending protocols (Spark, Fluid, Euler, Morpho), yield marketplaces (Pendle), and risk tranching platforms (Strata, TrancheFi), and enables broader DeFi adoption of sUSDat as a yield-bearing collateral asset.

Saturn launched its private beta with over $10M in deposits and officially launched publicly on April 8th, with an expectation to grow to over $100M in TVL within one to two months. On Pendle, PT-sUSDat fixed yields and YT-sUSDat upside exposure are planned, which will compound demand for sUSDat liquidity over time. Curve’s veTokenomics model is directly aligned with Saturn’s goal of long-term, capital-efficient, sticky liquidity rather than mercenary farming.

Pairing sUSDat with USDC creates a familiar, low-slippage entry and exit path for users, while generating swap fee revenue for veCRV holders.

Specifications:

  1. Governance: Saturn’s smart contracts are deployed and managed through a Panama foundation and operating company, which is responsible for deploying and managing the sUSDat and associated smart contracts. This entity does not touch user funds directly. The underlying capital is managed through Saturn Capital, a BVI token issuer wholly owned by a Cayman foundation. A regulated BVI fund (Saturn Fund) - with Saturn Capital as its sole investor - manages the STRC position. STRC execution is handled by Galaxy as execution broker, with assets custodied at Clear Street. Governance remains protocol-controlled at present.

  2. Oracles: STRC pricing for the sUSDat vault is sourced from a Chainlink onchain oracle, updating every 24 hours or on a 10 bps price move. The sUSDat NAV oracle (published via Chainlink using Accountable’s data feed) updates every 24 hours or 50 bps. All USDat capital is held in the USDat smart contract and is verifiable onchain at any time through the totalAssets() function of the sUSDat contract.

  3. Audits: Saturn’s smart contracts have undergone three independent audits:

    Three Sigma (Saturn Dollar): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oiNYLAv6HkwCBRy52-LoCBaPguO6bHam/view?usp=sharing

    Certora (Saturn Dollar - Final Report): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KW4farUnJXVo3_zoWWtr9sKNHY_uECR8/view?usp=sharing

    Certora (Saturn Dollar M0 Extensions - Final Audit Report): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qDt5lXDubvT02fCGWKtBJDF-__rkmSib/view?usp=sharing

    Audit reports are publicly available. Smart contract monitoring is provided by Hypernative on an ongoing basis. Formal verification via Certora is ongoing. Asset verification is performed by Accountable, providing real-time proof of reserves for off-chain STRC holdings.

  4. Centralization vectors: Several centralization vectors are present and should be acknowledged:

    Off-chain capital management: The Saturn Fund (BVI) manages STRC holdings; execution and custody rely on institutional service providers (Galaxy, Clear Street).

    Oracle dependency: sUSDat pricing depends on Chainlink oracle availability and accuracy for NAV and redemption calculations.

    Fund operations: Rotation of capital between USDat and STRC in response to staking and unstaking occurs over a period of days, introducing operational timing risk.

    Redemption queue: sUSDat is not instantly redeemable. Users must enter a withdrawal queue with an estimated average wait of 3 days and a maximum of 7 days, dependent on daily STRC liquidity.

    Legal enforceability: sUSDat contracts are launched under Panamanian jurisdiction. Assets are held in the BVI. Token holders do not hold direct legal claims on underlying STRC shares and are not able to enforce ownership claims on protocol capital in court.

    These vectors are consistent with the RWA protocol category and are mitigated by audit coverage, Hypernative monitoring, Accountable proof-of-reserves, and institutional-grade custody and execution infrastructure.

  5. Market History: sUSDat is a newly launched yield-bearing stablecoin and has not experienced any depeg events. The USDC/sUSDat pool on Curve is newly deployed; no historical trading or volatility data exists at the time of this proposal. Saturn secured $10M in TVL from institutional partners during its private beta, with additional liquidity earmarked to bootstrap the pool at public launch.