Iron Finance
Last changed 2026-10-10 · Score recalculated — Rescored under Scoring v2, the published formula (avoid.net/scoring): 10 → 38. Problems weighed by who is responsible: concerns that are not fraud −36, problems around the subject, caused by others −3; legitimacy credit long-running +2. Version history →
Why this score
| Every page starts at | 65 |
| Concerns that are not fraud | -36 |
| Problems around it, caused by others | -3 |
| Long-running | +2 |
| Sum | 28 |
Score: 38/100 (kept between 0 and 100)
How scoring works →Summary
Iron Finance was a multi-chain algorithmic stablecoin protocol deployed on Polygon and Binance Smart Chain in early 2021, best known for its IRON stablecoin partially collateralized by the protocol's native TITAN token. In June 2021, large token holders began liquidating their TITAN positions, triggering a negative feedback loop that drove TITAN from approximately $65 to near zero in a matter of hours and is widely cited as the first large-scale bank run in DeFi history. Estimated user losses reached approximately $2 billion, and the incident prompted prominent investor Mark Cuban — who publicly held positions in the protocol — to call for stablecoin regulation.
Connected Entities
4 entities · 60 linked investigations- Titan→mentioned with→Polygon(80%)
- Iron Finance→mentioned with→Titan(70%)
- Titan→mentioned with→Iron Finance(80%)
- Iron Finance→mentioned with→Binance(70%)
- Iron Finance→mentioned with→Polygon(70%)
- Polygon→mentioned with→Binance(70%)
Connected Through
4 shared actors · 579 investigationsDistinct actors this investigation shares with others — holders, traders, and named parties. Shared infrastructure (exchanges, pools) is excluded.
- □Binanceorganization
- □Polygonorganization
- ⌂Iron Financeprotocol
- □Titanorganizationalso in
Timeline(10 events)
March 2021
Iron Finance initially launches on Binance Smart Chain with the STEEL token as native collateral for IRON stablecoin.
Iron Finance Wikipedia; CryptoCurrency Wiki18 May 2021
Iron Finance expands to Polygon, launching the TITAN token as the Polygon-side collateral for IRON stablecoin.
Iron Finance Medium — Expansion to Polygon9 June 2021
TITAN reaches $1 billion TVL milestone on Polygon; the protocol publishes a celebratory announcement.
Iron Finance Medium — TVL milestone13 June 2021
Heavy social media promotion drives additional capital into Iron Finance; TITAN begins its final ascent fueled partly by notable endorsements including Mark Cuban.
Federal Reserve FEDS Notes — Runs on Algorithmic Stablecoins15 June 2021
Iron Finance TVL on Polygon peaks above $3 billion. TITAN reaches an all-time high of approximately $65.
DeFiLlama; CoinDesk16 June 2021
Around 10:00 UTC, large liquidity providers begin removing IRON/USDC liquidity and selling TITAN positions. TITAN drops from approximately $65 to $30 within roughly two hours. IRON breaks its $1 peg, falling toward $0.75. Redemption arbitrage activates, triggering continuous TITAN minting and a death spiral.
Iron Finance Post-Mortem; CoinDesk17 June 2021
TITAN collapses to near zero (recorded low approximately $0.000000035). IRON stablecoin loses most of its TITAN collateral backing. Iron Finance publishes a post-mortem characterizing the event as the 'world's first large-scale crypto bank run.' Estimated user losses reach approximately $2 billion.
Iron Finance Post-Mortem; CoinDesk; CoinGecko17 June 2021
Mark Cuban publicly discloses losses from the TITAN collapse and calls for stablecoin regulation, stating 'There should be regulation to define what a stable coin is and what collateralization is acceptable.'
Bloomberg; DecryptNovember 2021
The U.S. President's Working Group on Financial Markets publishes a report recommending Congress enact legislation limiting stablecoin issuance to insured depository institutions, citing risks analogous to those demonstrated by the Iron Finance collapse.
President's Working Group Report on Stablecoins2 June 2022
The Federal Reserve publishes 'Runs on Algorithmic Stablecoins: Evidence from Iron, Titan, and Steel,' a transaction-level analysis of the collapse concluding that design flaws in the no-arbitrage mechanism were central to the failure.
Federal Reserve FEDS NotesDecision Log
- slot 455359582 · hash Dh8G9N7cRMv68mmf8orjeamXurTYx41aaZF98MmbyKpH
- slot 423161008 · hash BbVTtT3rBGcZr88wqgKuDg8Hb9MZV29JLP9AN7uKNn3x
This investigation is cryptographically anchored to the Solana blockchain (2 decisions). 13 of 17 cited source URLs have an Internet Archive snapshot.
model: claude-sonnet-4-5
generated: 5/30/2026, 12:58:41 PM
last updated: 10/10/2026, 6:40:55 PM
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