Oil prices moved from $80 per barrel to above $100 after the closure of the Strait, according to the source article, which says the shock lifted US inflation to 0.9%. The disruption pushed supply risk back to the center of global markets and revived a familiar question for crypto users: whether a stable asset can protect real purchasing power, not just hold a flat dollar price.
That backdrop coincides with the launch of USDi, a US-based stablecoin created by Michael Ashton and Andrew Fately. The project does not frame stability as a strict one-dollar peg. Instead, it is built to track changes in the US Consumer Price Index, with the token’s value adjusting alongside inflation. Ashton’s argument is direct: conventional stablecoins may preserve nominal value, but they do not shield holders from rising living costs.
USDi shifts the reference point from dollars to inflation
The article describes USDi as closest in spirit to Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, while trying to avoid the interest-rate volatility that comes with bond exposure. Its reserves are held in the Enduring U.S. Inflation Tracking Fund, a lower-volatility vehicle that includes US Treasury bonds, TIPS, foreign currencies, and commodity futures and options. That reserve mix is meant to make the backing more responsive to inflation instead of simply defending a static dollar denomination.
Ashton says the financial system still lacks a product that links savings directly to inflation, and he presents USDi as an attempt to fill that gap. The distinction matters. Traditional stablecoins, in his view, have mostly innovated around payments, while this model is aimed at preserving purchasing power over time.
The project pitches targeted exposure to specific CPI risks
Another feature highlighted in the article is flexibility inside the inflation framework. USDi envisions users adjusting exposure to particular components inside the CPI basket, including housing, healthcare, education, and energy. Ashton says direct protection against inflation in items such as medical costs or tuition has not previously been available in this form.
The piece also points to possible use in insurance and long-dated household obligations. In parts of the US, families already try to lock in future education costs years ahead, and a product like USDi could offer a more adaptable hedge for those liabilities. USDi is now live and is seeking about $1.5 million in initial funding. The same article notes that with US Treasury bill yields around 3.5% and inflation near 3%, real returns in the bond market remain limited, which is drawing more attention to instruments directly tied to inflation metrics.