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  "schemaVersion": "1.0.0",
  "id": "what-is-gho",
  "canonical": "https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/what-is-gho/",
  "collection": "stablecoins",
  "title": "What is GHO? Aave’s stablecoin",
  "description": "Understand GHO’s facilitator-based issuance, Aave borrowing relationship and governance-controlled stability mechanisms without assuming a fixed borrowing rate.",
  "aliases": [
    "what is gho",
    "What is GHO Aave’s stablecoin"
  ],
  "dates": {
    "published": "2026-10-02",
    "modified": "2026-10-02",
    "verified": "2026-10-02T19:26:58.461Z",
    "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02"
  },
  "authorship": {
    "publisher": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project",
    "process": "AI-assisted research and drafting with a separate automated source-verification pass; no external expert or named human review is implied."
  },
  "quickAnswer": {
    "text": "GHO is a dollar-referenced stablecoin native to the Aave ecosystem. Its token uses approved facilitators that can mint and burn within governance-defined capacities. Borrowing against Aave collateral is one issuance route; stability modules add other mechanisms. GHO’s design target is a dollar peg, not a guaranteed secondary-market quote or a fixed return for holders.",
    "claimId": "what-is-gho-quick-answer",
    "sourceIds": [
      "x425-sc-gho",
      "x425-sc-gho-help"
    ]
  },
  "keyFacts": [
    {
      "label": "Authority",
      "value": "Approved facilitators mint and burn GHO within assigned capacities.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-sc-gho"
      ],
      "id": "authority",
      "claimId": "what-is-gho-fact-authority"
    },
    {
      "label": "Borrowing",
      "value": "Aave collateral can support a GHO borrowing position.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-sc-gho-help"
      ],
      "id": "borrowing",
      "claimId": "what-is-gho-fact-borrowing"
    },
    {
      "label": "Interest",
      "value": "Interest from the documented Aave minting route is directed to the DAO treasury.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-sc-gho-help"
      ],
      "id": "interest",
      "claimId": "what-is-gho-fact-interest"
    }
  ],
  "prerequisites": [
    "crypto-backed-stablecoins",
    "defi-lending-pools"
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "facilitators",
      "heading": "The token separates mint authority from a single market",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-sc-gho"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "A facilitator has a capacity and a current amount minted under that capacity. Governance controls who holds those roles and the allowed limits. This lets different approved mechanisms interact with the same token, but makes their rules important to understanding issuance.",
        "A capacity of 10 million and a current level of 8 million would leave 2 million of headroom, using illustrative values. That headroom is a minting constraint, not a reserve balance or a promise that a user can borrow that amount."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "borrow",
      "heading": "Your loan remains separate from your token balance",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-sc-gho-help",
        "x425-sc-gho"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "Borrowing GHO creates a debt position governed by its collateral and interest rules. Buying GHO on a market simply acquires the token. Holding GHO is not the same as supplying collateral or earning the interest paid by borrowers.",
        "Avoid relying on a historical advertised borrowing rate. Governance and market configuration can change the rate or capacity relevant to a specific position."
      ]
    },
    {
      "id": "peg",
      "heading": "Inspect the actual stability mechanism",
      "sourceIds": [
        "x425-sc-gho"
      ],
      "paragraphs": [
        "The GHO Stability Module framework supports conversions with approved external assets under configurable rules. This differs from assuming every token holder has an unrestricted right to receive one bank dollar directly.",
        "Read the module’s supported asset, capacity, price strategy and controls. Governance, collateral, oracle and liquidity assumptions still matter even when a user-facing screen rounds the token price to $1."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "question": "Does every GHO holder automatically earn Aave borrowing interest?",
      "answer": "No. A token balance and participation in an interest-bearing product are different. The documented borrowing route sends interest to the DAO treasury; any holder reward or savings product has its own rules.",
      "sourceIds": [
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        "x425-sc-gho"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
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      "statement": "GHO is a dollar-referenced stablecoin native to the Aave ecosystem. Its token uses approved facilitators that can mint and burn within governance-defined capacities. Borrowing against Aave collateral is one issuance route; stability modules add other mechanisms. GHO’s design target is a dollar peg, not a guaranteed secondary-market quote or a fixed return for holders.",
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      "sourceLocators": [
        {
          "sourceId": "source-ba271de4f54e10e8",
          "locator": "Facilitator model; bucket capacity; stability module"
        },
        {
          "sourceId": "source-e7a5aa647af4d2b5",
          "locator": "What is GHO?; how different"
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      ],
      "scope": {
        "collection": "stablecoins",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
        "blockHeight": null
      },
      "qualification": "",
      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
        "status": "verified",
        "method": "independent automated source review",
        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:26:58.461Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex DeFi agent, separate from the stablecoin drafting agent",
        "notes": "GHO facilitator cap and treasury interest checked. 10 million − 8 million = 2 million headroom, expressly not reserve or individual credit availability."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "what-is-gho-fact-authority",
      "articleSlug": "what-is-gho",
      "statement": "Authority: Approved facilitators mint and burn GHO within assigned capacities.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-ba271de4f54e10e8"
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      "sourceLocators": [
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        "notes": "GHO facilitator cap and treasury interest checked. 10 million − 8 million = 2 million headroom, expressly not reserve or individual credit availability."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "what-is-gho-fact-borrowing",
      "articleSlug": "what-is-gho",
      "statement": "Borrowing: Aave collateral can support a GHO borrowing position.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e7a5aa647af4d2b5"
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      "sourceLocators": [
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          "locator": "What is GHO?; how different"
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      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:26:58.461Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex DeFi agent, separate from the stablecoin drafting agent",
        "notes": "GHO facilitator cap and treasury interest checked. 10 million − 8 million = 2 million headroom, expressly not reserve or individual credit availability."
      }
    },
    {
      "id": "what-is-gho-fact-interest",
      "articleSlug": "what-is-gho",
      "statement": "Interest: Interest from the documented Aave minting route is directed to the DAO treasury.",
      "sourceIds": [
        "source-e7a5aa647af4d2b5"
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      "sourceLocators": [
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      "scope": {
        "collection": "stablecoins",
        "dataAsOf": "2026-10-02",
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      "evidenceStatus": "documented",
      "verification": {
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        "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T19:26:58.461Z",
        "reviewer": "Independent automated verification — Codex DeFi agent, separate from the stablecoin drafting agent",
        "notes": "GHO facilitator cap and treasury interest checked. 10 million − 8 million = 2 million headroom, expressly not reserve or individual credit availability."
      }
    }
  ],
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "x425-sc-gho",
      "label": "GHO protocol documentation",
      "publisher": "Aave",
      "url": "https://www.aave.com/docs/ecosystem/gho",
      "locator": "Facilitator model; bucket capacity; stability module",
      "note": "Governance-authorized mint/burn facilitators and mint caps, distinguished from user deposit interest.",
      "version": "Document retrieved 2026-10-02; content hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:51:09.844Z",
      "contentSha256": "e483f4db084c9e5c358920f777554ab8371a2bf93bde119fd09ef07d0a325835",
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    },
    {
      "id": "x425-sc-gho-help",
      "label": "GHO stablecoin",
      "publisher": "Aave",
      "url": "https://www.aave.com/help/gho-stablecoin/gho",
      "locator": "What is GHO?; how different",
      "note": "Collateral-backed issuance and borrowing interest directed to the DAO treasury.",
      "version": "Document retrieved 2026-10-02; content hash recorded",
      "checkedAt": "2026-10-02T18:51:09.104Z",
      "contentSha256": "6559a2a62e6776b41bdf0ec8356b41d0a7344f441968992d88a67013671d9976",
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  ],
  "related": {
    "articles": [
      "governance-tokens",
      "stablecoin-yield-sources",
      "what-is-crvusd",
      "what-is-lusd"
    ],
    "dossiers": [],
    "wallets": []
  },
  "revisionHistory": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10-02",
      "kind": "published",
      "summary": "First publication after primary-source research and separate automated verification."
    }
  ],
  "citation": "Degrees of Satoshi editorial project. “What is GHO? Aave’s stablecoin.” Published 2026-10-02; updated 2026-10-02. https://degreesofsatoshi.com/encyclopedia/what-is-gho/"
}