Since its launch in 2021, TreehouseFi has focused on "addressing the lack of infrastructure in the DeFi fixed income market". Through the technical iteration of the tAssets liquid staking system and DOR decentralized interest rate benchmark, along with ecological implementation, it has gradually progressed from "proof of concept" to "actual value delivery". As of August 2025, the project has achieved stable operation across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Mantle, serving over 60,000 users, with a total locked value (TVL) exceeding $500 million, and its first RWA (Real World Asset) product, the "On-chain National Debt tAsset", has entered the final testing phase. Its performance in infrastructure depth, ecological effectiveness, and risk control capability provides a reference development paradigm for the DeFi fixed income sector, worthy of in-depth analysis.

I. Deep Construction of Infrastructure: From "Function Realization" to "Experience Optimization"

TreehouseFi's core competitiveness stems from the continuous refinement of the two infrastructures, tAssets and DOR, which not only achieves basic functions but also enhances user experience and industry adaptability through technical iteration, building differentiated technological barriers.

1. tAssets: From "Multiple Returns Stacking" to "Risk-Return Balance"

Initially, tAssets attracted users with a "basic staking + MEY arbitrage" multiple return model, which has now upgraded to a "dynamic risk-return adjustment" system:

• Risk Layering Design: tAssets are divided into "conservative" (basic staking returns + low volatility MEY, with MEY sources limited to top protocols like Aave and Compound) and "aggressive" (basic returns + full market MEY + re-staking rewards, with MEY covering small and medium protocols but requiring additional risk), allowing users to switch based on risk preference with no fees and no interruption in returns during switching.

• Dynamic Collateral Rate Optimization: The collateral rate of tAssets in Aave is no longer fixed at 85%, but is dynamically adjusted based on the user's holding duration—collateral rate increases to 88% after holding for more than 30 days and to 90% after more than 90 days. This long-term holding incentive enhances user stickiness, with 40% of tAssets users currently choosing a "conservative + long-term holding" combination.

• Cross-Chain Experience Upgrade: Achieved "tAssets atomic cross-chain" between Ethereum and Arbitrum, Mantle, reducing cross-chain time from 2 hours to 10 minutes, with Gas fees lowered by 30% (partially subsidized by the ecological fund). In Q3 2025, cross-chain transaction volume accounted for 25% of total transaction volume, improving by 12 percentage points from Q2, significantly enhancing cross-chain convenience.

2. DOR: From "Single Interest Rate" to "Multi-Asset Benchmark"

As an industry-level interest rate benchmark, DOR has expanded from being "exclusive to Ethereum staking rate (TESR)" to "multi-asset coverage," optimizing data reliability and real-time performance:

• Multi-Asset Interest Rate Coverage: In addition to TESR, a new "tUSDC cross-chain interest rate benchmark" (based on the average borrowing rates of tUSDC across Ethereum, Arbitrum, and Mantle) will be added in Q3 2025, and a "green RWA interest rate benchmark" (based on cash flow returns from cooperative wind power projects) will be launched by the end of 2025, extending asset types from "crypto-native" to "traditional green assets".

• Quotation Mechanism Optimization: The introduction of "institutional quoters" (requiring a stake of 100,000 $TREE or equivalent tAssets), complements the existing "community quoters"—the data weight contribution of institutional quoters accounts for 40%, while community quoters account for 60%. The outlier removal ratio is adjusted from 10% to 5%, enhancing data professionalism while ensuring community participation.

• Data Application Implementation: Currently, three market makers (including one traditional finance background market maker) are using DOR data for "fixed rate loan pricing". The "1-year fixed rate ETH loan" product developed based on TESR has issued over $5 million in one month since its launch, validating the actual application value of DOR.

II. Ecological Implementation Effectiveness: From "Cooperation Signing" to "Value Delivery"

The ecological development of TreehouseFi does not rely on "framework partnerships" but focuses on "user value, institutional recognition, and RWA implementation". It validates ecological resilience through specific achievements, avoiding "hollow growth".

1. High-Quality Accumulation of Users and Assets

The growth of project users does not rely on "airdrop subsidies" but is achieved through "transparent returns + optimized experience" for natural retention:

• Return Transparency: Users can view the source of each return in the "Return Details" section on the official website—such as "basic staking return (0.02 ETH), MEY arbitrage return (0.005 ETH, from the interest rate difference between lending USDT on Aave and borrowing USDT on Compound), Nuts points (100 points)". The composition of returns is clear and traceable, and current user satisfaction with return transparency has reached 92%.

• Quality User Structure: Among over 60,000 tAssets holders, the 30-day retention rate is 65% and the 90-day retention rate is 30%, both higher than the average levels for DeFi projects (45%, 15%); the average holding size per user is $8,300, with 28% of users holding more than $10,000, indicating a willingness to invest funds for the long term.

• Community Participation Depth: In Q3 2025, a total of three community governance proposals were initiated (such as "adjustment of ecological fund allocation for RWA development" and "cross-chain Gas fee subsidy ratio for tAssets"), with an average voting participation rate of 25%, higher than the average voting rate of 15% for DeFi projects. Moreover, the execution efficiency after proposal approval reached 100% (for example, the fund transfer was completed within 7 days after the "RWA development allocation adjustment" proposal was approved).

2. Substantial Advancement of Institutional Cooperation and RWA

The project has made clear progress in institutional cooperation and RWA implementation, rather than remaining at the "intention stage":

• Institutional User Penetration: Through the Aave Prime market (institutional-level lending market), tETH has become a core collateral asset for two hedge funds and three family offices. The scale of stablecoins borrowed against tETH by institutional users exceeds $30 million, accounting for 60% of the total tETH collateral in the Aave Prime market.

• RWA Product Implementation Imminent: The "On-chain National Debt tAsset" has completed the underlying asset connection (U.S. 3-month Treasury bonds), custody (traditional financial institution State Street), and compliance filing (U.S. SEC Regulation D). It is expected to launch in Q4 2025, with a minimum configuration threshold of $100 per user and an expected annual yield of 2.5%-3%. Currently, over 5,000 users have reserved configurations.

• Directed Use of Ecological Fund: Of the 10% ecological fund (approximately 100 million $TREE, equivalent to $35 million at current prices), 60% is used for "subsidies for developing derivatives based on DOR" (having funded five developer teams to develop prototypes for interest rate swaps and floating rate bonds), and 40% is allocated for "user education" (creating graphic/video tutorials on DOR mechanisms, tAssets usage, and RWA configuration). Fund usage focuses on "value delivery", avoiding idleness.

III. Dynamic Balance of Value and Risk: Advantage Barriers and Potential Challenges

TreehouseFi has established clear advantages in the DeFi fixed income sector, but intensified industry competition and changes in the external environment still pose potential risks, necessitating an objective assessment of its development boundaries.

1. Core Advantages: Irreplaceability and Grounded Resilience

• Ecological Synergy Barrier: Unlike competitors that "only do liquid staking" (like Lido) or "only provide interest rate data" (like some on-chain data projects), TreehouseFi's "tAssets (user side) + DOR (industry side)" forms a synergistic closed loop—user growth of tAssets provides more data samples for DOR (such as cross-chain tUSDC borrowing behavior), and the improvement of DOR expands more use cases for tAssets (such as fixed-rate wealth management based on DOR). This synergy is difficult to replicate by single-function projects.

• Institutional Resource Advantage: The A-round investment from MassMutual Ventures (a venture capital arm of a traditional financial giant) provides traditional financial channels for RWA connection and institutional user expansion. After the Binance HODLer airdrop, the project's recognition in institutional circles has significantly increased, and currently, two traditional asset management companies have expressed interest in "developing on-chain bond products based on DOR".

• Risk Control Capability: In addition to four top-tier audits such as Trail of Bits and Sigma Prime, new "multi-signature management for smart contracts" (core parameter adjustments require confirmation from 3/5 multi-signature addresses) and a "DAO insurance fund" (with a scale of $5 million, covering individual security incident losses up to $3 million) have been established. No security incidents occurred in Q3 2025, validating the safety of user assets.

2. Potential Challenges: Adaptability and Development Boundaries

• User Education Costs: The DOR mechanism involves specialized concepts such as "quote staker, outlier removal, multi-asset interest rate calculation," making it difficult for ordinary users to understand. Currently, only 15% of users participate in DOR quoting. The project plans to launch a "simplified version of DOR interface" in Q4 2025 (where users only need to choose whether to participate in quoting and the staking amount without understanding the underlying mechanism) and produce a "1-minute understanding DOR" series of short videos to lower participation barriers.

• RWA Compliance Risks: Different regions have significantly different regulatory requirements for RWA tokenization (such as EU MiCA regulations, U.S. SEC filings). If the "On-chain National Debt tAsset" expands to the European market, it will need to complete compliance filings again, which may cause delays in implementation. The project has formed a special compliance team to proactively connect with the regulatory authorities in the target regions.

• Market Competition Pressure: Aave plans to launch an "interest rate benchmark based on its own lending data" in 2026. If this benchmark is launched, it may divert some developers relying on DOR. TreehouseFi's response strategy is to "strengthen multi-asset coverage" (such as green RWA and cross-chain tUSDC interest rates) to avoid direct competition with Aave on single Ethereum lending rates, forming a differentiated positioning.

Summary and Future Outlook

Overall, TreehouseFi has established a "technological barrier + grounded resilience + institutional resources" triple advantage in the DeFi fixed income sector through the deep construction of tAssets and DOR infrastructures and substantial ecological implementation. Its core value lies in providing users with "transparent and stable income tools" and offering the industry a "reusable interest rate benchmark," effectively filling the infrastructure gap in the DeFi fixed income market. Despite facing short-term challenges such as user education and regulatory implementation, the project's dynamic adjustment capability and clear long-term positioning indicate sustainable development potential.

Future Outlook:

• Short-term (Q4 2025 - Q1 2026): If the "On-chain National Debt tAsset" is successfully launched, it is expected to attract 15,000 to 20,000 new users (mainly low-risk preference users), with ecological TVL exceeding $700 million, and the price of $TREE is expected to rebound to $0.50-$0.60, primarily driven by the user and capital increase brought by RWA products.

• Mid-term (2026): If the multi-asset DOR benchmark (green RWA, cross-chain tUSDC) is implemented, and the number of derivatives (interest rate swaps, floating rate bonds) based on DOR reaches more than five, it is expected that the proportion of institutional users will increase to 15%, RWA scale will exceed $300 million, and the price of $TREE may reach $0.80-$1.00, driven by the industry penetration rate of DOR and the richness of ecological products.

• Long-term (2027): If the scale of the DeFi fixed income sector grows from the current $5 billion to $50 billion, TreehouseFi is expected to capture 15%-20% of the market share with its "multi-asset DOR + RWA ecology", resulting in a total ecological TVL exceeding $8 billion, making it one of the core infrastructures in the DeFi fixed income field. Its long-term value growth will depend on the project's implementation progress, industry penetration pace, and dual support from the regulatory environment, requiring ongoing attention to subsequent RWA expansion and DOR industry applications.