# Basics ## Overview This entry provides a high level summary about Kujira's native stablecoin USK. A substantially more technical deep dive into USK's mechanism and underlying mechanics can be found in the '[Technical Specifics](/dapps-and-infrastructure/usk-stablecoin/technical-specifics.md)' entry. The ins and outs of minting USK can be explored in '[How to Mint USK](/dapps-and-infrastructure/usk-stablecoin/how-to-mint-usk.md)'. The '[Transparency](/dapps-and-infrastructure/usk-stablecoin/transparency.md)' entry provides helpful links and explanations to verify USK mint/burn events and check USK health and collateral makeup. USK use cases can be explored at length in the '[Use cases](/dapps-and-infrastructure/usk-stablecoin/use-cases.md)' entry. ## Purpose Empower decentralized finance and real-world payments. ## Design USK is a decentralized stablecoin *softpegged* to the US dollar. It is (more than) fully backed by a slowly expanding bucket of diversified crypto assets such as wETH, wBNB, and ATOM, at a collateralization rate of over 166%. USK leverages Kujira's original flagship product ORCA to handle the liquidation layer and make all USK market activity, minting, burning, liquidating, transacting, accessible to everyone. As USK is soft-pegged, it is normal and expected to see some volatility in USK price over time based on changing market supply and demand dynamics for Kujira financial services and payments infrastructure. USK is omnipresent across Kujira's 1st party products and is a central fixture of the Kujira ecosystem. ## Value Minting or acquiring USK is a gateway to unlocking financial opportunities and services only available on the Kujira network. USK will also leverage Sonar and other Kujira applications to serve as a base layer for a new wave of real-world payment opportunities and infrastructure. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.kujira.app/dapps-and-infrastructure/usk-stablecoin/basics.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.