The past two weeks have been turbulent for all cryptocurrencies, as the collapse of Terra’s stablecoin UST and its reserve token LUNA spiraled investors’ panic. Following the turmoil in the market, the biggest stablecoin USDT briefly depegged as well, dropping below $0.94. No doubt, there is currently a huge demand for stable assets, which unexpectedly got addressed by a satirical artists’ collective dubbed Mossy.
The group quietly rolled out an ERC-20 “stablecoin” backed by a unique asset – a 23-ounce can of the delicious AriZona Iced Tea. The cold beverage has maintained its $0.99 price tag for over 30 years, making it the most stable asset globally. “While other stablecoins attempt to peg to dollar amounts through questionable algorithms or opaque investment strategies, we guarantee our liquidity with sweet, delicious liquid,” Mossy claims, making a blow to both UST and USDT.
Mossy collective consists just of three people. They are Brian Moore, an artist known for creating a “hypertag” that showcases live price on your sneakers, and Mike Lacher, who went viral for developing an AI that roasts your Spotify playlists. The third member of the group remains anonymous.
In his interview with TechCrunch, Brian Moore revealed that the entire supply of 1,000 USDTea was sold about an hour and a half after the unannounced launch. Currently, the banner on the website reads that the team is working on acquiring more liquidity. The group claims it has tea reserves located in different sites across the US and is ready to redeem every token for one can of AriZona Ice Tea at any given moment. However, there’s just one little thing: you’d have to pay a $20 processing fee to receive your precious liquid. Additionally, the shipment is available only in the United States “due to algorithmic complexity.”
Although Mossy is unaffiliated with AriZona, describing itself as “a community of technologists passionate about building stable future economies with sweet, refreshing canned beverages,” the company tweeted in support of the bizarre stablecoin.
However, the recent data indicates that USDTea might not be as stable as its creators intended. For instance, pumpdumpcoin.com user Mbrannon42 spotted four AriZona cans for just $3 at the local supermarket sale. “I’m not sure the crypto economy can rebound from this now. TWO “stable” coin rugpulls?!? I’m seriously thinking of selling both of my satoshis and rebuying shib when we reach the bottom. Maybe in 10 years or so I can trade them for a doge and retire or go see a movie or something,” Mbrannon42 wrote.
USDTea is so far the third project by Mossi. The first one was the Non-Fungible Olive Gardens, a collection of NFTs depicting real-world Olive Gardens restaurants that got Mossi a copyright takedown notice. The second was Blockedchain, a platform that rewards you with an NFT if you’ve been blocked on Twitter by certain individuals or organizations, including Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey, the CIA, and BAYC. “We’re in the interest of making interesting work on the internet, and that is the ultimate goal,” Brian Moore told TechCrunch.
