Usual ETH0

ETH0 is Usual’s synthetic ETH on Ethereum and is fully backed by Lido’s wrapped staked ETH. It is not itself a liquid-staking provider. Usual keeps the native wstETH yield, while ETH0 holders receive separate USUAL emissions. TVL was about $1.76 million in the 2026-08-15 survey, far below our size floor. We do not open an individual review until the protocol clears that floor. One practice advising 100 households moves $1M to $8M into a venue on the same research. Below the size floor, that book becomes the exit crush. Size alone decides the result, whatever the protocol’s quality. Sustained growth reopens the file.

Review triggers: events that reopen the verdict
• TVL sustained above the retired TVL threshold for 30 days

Watched nightly: a warning on its venues or files, or a cited document that changes, reopens the memo. The first confirmation is due 2026-11-15.

The research file

Mechanism applicability

Users mint ETH0 without permission by depositing wstETH worth one ETH per ETH0 into Usual’s Ethereum collateral contracts. ETH0 does not rebase and keeps full ETH price exposure. The protocol captures native wstETH yield, while holders receive USUAL emissions. The survey covers the current synthetic token and its collateral balance. Their size directly triggers the shared v1 rule for protocols below the size floor.

Current observation and lifecycle

The DefiLlama protocol API read on 2026-08-15 classified Usual ETH0 as Synthetics and reported approximately $1.76M, entirely on Ethereum. Current Usual documentation and a factsheet updated in 2026 identify ETH0 as launched, list live contracts, and describe Hexens and Spearbit reviews. This is an active single-chain product, not a roadmap item or archived token.

Control and exit applicability

Chainlink and Lido rate oracles set mint and redemption values. Circuit breakers can pause operations, and upgradeable contracts, the DAO, and role-based controls can change parameters, including the redemption fee. A holder can redeem ETH0 without permission for wstETH at the oracle rate, less a 5-basis-point fee. The holder must then bear Lido withdrawal or market execution to reach ETH. Lido, oracle, pause, governance, and secondary-liquidity risks remain.

Why the class rule decides

ETH0 does not meet the category-reviewed dossier’s rule that an alternative must be a genuine liquid-staking provider for the same use case. It is a synthetic ETH wrapper. Its protocol captures the backing yield and pays holders separate USUAL emissions. Applying the LST-selection class would therefore hide Usual oracle, governance, and reward-token dependencies. At roughly $1.76M TVL, a $1M to $8M advised allocation would make up a dominant share of the system. The shared v1 size rule therefore remains the current class that controls the result. The protocol is below the size floor, so we do not open an individual review until it clears that floor. Reopen after TVL stays above the size floor for 30 consecutive days. Then compare ETH0 with direct ETH, wstETH, and selected LST exposure on net yield, controls, and proposed-size exit.

Research status

This is a capacity-unproven record for Usual ETH0, not a quality rejection or approval. Reported TVL says how big the venue is, not what the client owns, who can change the rules, or how a position exits at a proposed size. The individual review opens when the protocol clears the size floor.

Sources

The claims above trace to these. Where a number could not be independently verified, the thesis says so.

• Usual — ETH0 product overview · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: wstETH collateral, ETH0 synthetic, Ethereum, product lifecycle
• Usual — ETH0 collateral and risk · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: Lido dependency, slashing risk, oracle risk, liquidity risk, governance controls
• Usual — ETH0 current factsheet · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: current lifecycle, Ethereum contracts, 5 bps redemption fee, DAO governance, audits
• Usual — protocol audit registry · primary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: ETH0 audit, Hexens, Spearbit, security review
• DefiLlama — Usual ETH0 survey record · secondary · accessed 2026-08-15
  Supports: current TVL, Ethereum, Synthetics category, survey observation

Inherited controls

The research above describes the protocol layer. Every position also inherits the asset it holds and the chain it settles on. The layer with the most administrative power sets the position’s effective control; that describes control, not quality or suitability.