Mezo

Mezo connects Bitcoin-backed MUSD loans with native swaps and BTC gas payments

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Mezo is a Bitcoin finance platform where BTC secures MUSD loans and pays network transaction fees. MUSD is a stablecoin designed to track the US dollar, while native swaps exchange assets through liquidity pools. The same network supports yield vaults, token locking and applications built with Ethereum-compatible tools. These functions depend on different inputs: borrowing needs collateral, swaps need pool liquidity and each earning strategy has its own asset requirements.

How Does Borrowing MUSD Differ From Swapping or Providing Liquidity?

Borrowing creates MUSD debt against BTC collateral; swapping exchanges existing tokens and providing liquidity supplies reserves for other traders.

Function Financial Effect Asset Scope
MUSD borrowing Mints stablecoins and creates a secured debt obligation BTC collateral and MUSD debt
Native swaps Exchanges tokens through pool reserves BTC, MUSD and other supported pool assets
Liquidity provision Supplies capital for token trading The two assets in the selected pool
Vault strategies Deploys deposited assets under a defined strategy The deposit token each individual vault accepts

A swap from BTC to MUSD exchanges the BTC sold for another asset. Borrowing against BTC leaves collateral in a loan position and creates an obligation to repay. Mezo also offers BTC-backed loans in mUSDC, the USDC token on Mezo. These loans use variable interest rates based on market demand and a separate liquidation threshold; MUSD redemptions don't apply. Pool trading changes a liquidity provider's token mix. When relative token prices change, the position can be worth less than holding the tokens separately. A vault follows its own strategy.


BTC Gas and Wallet Access

BTC is the native asset used to pay transaction fees on Mezo. A balance on Bitcoin or Ethereum is separate from a usable gas balance on this network. Deposited tBTC from Ethereum arrives as BTC on Mezo, connecting the bridge asset with the network's fee asset.

Native BTC Bridge-in closed on October 13, 2026, and the app no longer accepts deposits from Bitcoin wallets. tBTC deposits from Ethereum remain a supported route through an Ethereum-compatible wallet. Existing Bitcoin-wallet accounts can still send assets to an Ethereum-compatible wallet on Mezo or bridge out directly to BTC. The deposit restriction concerns incoming funds; it doesn't end BTC's role as the network's gas asset.

Get Gas provides a separate low-balance option for accounts holding MUSD or MEZO. A relay covers gas for that swap, which exchanges the selected token for BTC. The quoted token input still has a cost; gas sponsorship applies to this feature.

What Can Change an MUSD Loan After It Opens?

An MUSD loan changes through accrued interest, BTC price movements and redemptions against its collateral. Its fixed interest rate applies to existing credit unless the borrower refinances; additional credit uses the rate offered when it's added. Interest accrues on debt, so an unchanged BTC price doesn't imply an unchanged collateral ratio. Opening or increasing a loan also carries an issuance fee of 0.1% of newly borrowed MUSD.

Collateral Requirements

Each loan's collateral ratio is its BTC collateral's dollar value divided by its MUSD debt, expressed as a percentage.

Normal Mode

Normal Mode permits new loans with at least 110% collateralization. Falling below 110% puts an existing loan at risk of liquidation, which closes the position and removes its collateral.

Visual outline: Mezo: Collateral Requirements

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Recovery Mode

Recovery Mode starts when the entire system's total collateral ratio falls below 150%. New loans then need at least 150% collateralization, and refinancing is blocked. The individual liquidation threshold remains 110%.

Redemption Exposure

Redemption lets MUSD holders exchange tokens for a dollar-equivalent amount of BTC, less the redemption fee. The protocol takes that BTC from eligible loans, starting with the lowest collateral ratio above 110%. A partial redemption reduces debt and collateral together, so the remaining ratio rises even though the borrower loses some BTC exposure.


Swap Pricing and Pool Liquidity

Mezo Swap is an automated market maker, or AMM, whose prices come from smart-contract liquidity reserves. Trades alter the token balances in those reserves, which changes subsequent quotes. Supported swap assets include BTC, MUSD, USDC and USDT, with execution dependent on the selected pool's liquidity.

Visual outline: Mezo - Swap Pricing and Pool Liquidity

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Stable pools use a curve for similarly valued assets, such as MUSD and USDC. Basic volatile pools use the constant-product relationship x × y = k for uncorrelated assets, such as BTC and USDC. Here, x and y represent pool reserves. A stablecoin pair can have a different pricing curve without eliminating slippage or the need for available liquidity.

Slippage tolerance limits unfavorable price movement between a quote and execution; the swap reverts if movement exceeds that limit. Large trades also affect the pool's price. For basic pools, standard fees are 0.02% of the input token for stable pools and 0.30% for volatile pools; governance can set custom pool fees. These trading fees are separate from BTC network gas.

Earning, Locking and Vault Availability

Mezo Earn connects rewards with network activity, while liquidity deposits and token locks create different positions. Conventional pools represent a proportional reserve share with liquidity-provider tokens, usually called LP tokens. Concentrated-liquidity pools add price-range management and represent positions with non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Those positions stop earning trading fees while the market price is outside their chosen range. A vault deploys its accepted deposit token through a defined strategy, so its yield and withdrawal conditions depend on that strategy.

BTC locking produces veBTC voting power and access to network-fee yield. Locking MEZO produces veMEZO, which can boost veBTC weight; it doesn't give MEZO independent governance weight. Their lock terms differ from the withdrawal terms of liquidity pools and vaults, and their rewards depend on network activity and the position's applicable rules.

Vault-Specific Restrictions

The MUSD Savings Vault accepts MUSD, while the USDC Lending Vault uses mUSDC and depends on lending-market liquidity. The BTC Vault (mbhBTC) is winding down and has closed deposits. Its October 28, 2026 deadline applies to withdrawal requests; queued processing and claiming can occur afterward. That deadline belongs to this vault, and a withdrawal request isn't an immediate return of assets.

MUSD Spending and EVM Applications

Mezo Market adds spending uses for MUSD, including gift cards and subscriptions. Spending the stablecoin doesn't repay the loan it originally came from: the borrowing position retains its debt and collateral requirements. MUSD acquired through a swap and MUSD minted through a loan can enter the same spending environment, while the loan obligation belongs to the borrowing position.

The underlying blockchain is compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM), allowing developers to build applications with familiar contract tooling. Passport extends wallet integration to Bitcoin and Ethereum-compatible wallets, including helpers for balances, connections and transactions. Those applications operate on the same network as the borrowing and trading functions. Loan collateral and trading activity are publicly visible on-chain. Familiar Ethereum tools support application development here, while BTC remains the asset used for network fees.

Mezo: MUSD Spending and EVM Applications - diagram

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Mezo: the short answers

Which Bitcoin Wallets Connect Through Mezo Passport?

Mezo Passport supports UniSat, Xverse and OKX Bitcoin wallets. The OKX Bitcoin-wallet connection doesn't support Ledger. Wallet compatibility is separate from deposit availability: native BTC bridge-in has closed, so connecting one of these wallets doesn't reopen that incoming route. Existing Bitcoin-wallet accounts can still send assets on Mezo and manage loans.

When Can I Repay an MUSD Loan?

An MUSD loan has no fixed repayment schedule, and early repayment carries no early-repayment penalty. Closing the position requires enough MUSD for the principal, accrued interest and applicable fees. Adequate collateral remains necessary while a loan stays open, regardless of the intended repayment date.

Does the Minimum MUSD Loan Amount Refer to Debt or BTC Collateral?

The minimum loan is 1,800 MUSD of borrowed debt; the required BTC collateral depends on its value and the loan's collateral ratio. A separate 200 MUSD gas deposit brings minimum opening debt to at least 2,000 MUSD. That reserve counts in the collateral ratio and is distinct from BTC transaction gas.

Why Can a proxy-contract Token Be Missing From the Mezo Explorer?

The Mezo Explorer's BlockScout indexer has a known limitation with proxy-contract tokens. A token may remain absent from an externally owned account's display until the account has completed its first transfer and approval for that token. An incomplete indexed display alone doesn't establish that the account has no token balance.

What Happens to Surplus BTC After a Full MUSD Redemption?

Surplus BTC remains claimable by the borrower after a redemption fully cancels the loan's debt. The protocol holds that remainder in a separate surplus-collateral account. A missing alert in the Borrow interface doesn't mean the surplus is gone; a manual claim is available through the Mezo Explorer.