The reserve

One reserve backs every Scrip. Its value lives in two places: a USDC buffer and a holding of tokenized Treasuries.

The USDC buffer

The buffer is USDC held in the reserve's own vault. Redemptions are paid from it on the spot, in the same transaction that burns the Scrip.

The reserve keeps the buffer at a target share of what it owes, set when the reserve is created. You can see the target, and how close the buffer is to it, on the Reserve page.

Tokenized Treasuries

Once the admin has configured a Treasury asset, the rest of the reserve sits in that tokenized Treasury product, such as USDY, and that is where the yield comes from. Before one is configured, the reserve holds USDC alone.

Moving value between the two happens in one atomic exchange with the reserve's whitelisted provider: USDC leaves exactly as the Treasury tokens arrive, or the other way round, valued at the Treasury product's authenticated price. The reserve never hands over one side without receiving the other.

Keeping the buffer at target

The keeper checks the buffer first on every run, once a minute. When redemptions draw the buffer below target, it refills the buffer from Treasury holdings. When deposits lift it above target, it invests the excess.

How the reserve is valued

USDC counts at face value. Treasury holdings count at the price published by the reserve's trusted price feed, which must be fresh: no older than the reserve's maximum price age, one hour at most. Every mint, redemption, conversion and harvest values the reserve first, so each one acts on the reserve as it stands.

What backs each Scrip

The reserve tracks what it owes each Scrip. That figure rounds up, never down, so splitting a balance across many wallets can't create a claim larger than the dollars behind it. Everything the reserve holds beyond what it owes is yield, waiting to be harvested.