[TFIP-29] Funding Request to build TrueFi into a premier RWA Stablecoin protocol by Cyan

[Cyan]

Who is Cyan?
Cyan, a lending platform utilizing NFT technology, aims to position TrueFi as a premier RWA Stablecoin platform amidst the imminent $10 trillion TAM influx.

Cyan was established in early 2022 and has a team of 4 dedicated professionals. The team comprises a visionary and project manager, a senior blockchain developer, a senior full-stack developer, and a junior full-stack developer. We offer the Cyan Wallet, a unique smart contract wallet escrow solution that no other lending platform provides. Cyan is also the first protocol to introduce the “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) concept to NFTs.

To date, Cyan has facilitated close to $25 million in loan volumes, with vaults returning yields between 25-40%. Our protocol has been safely running for 1,142 days and has been audited by Quantstamp, Certik, 0xQuit, and other independent auditors. We were among the first to offer RWA loans, with the first proof-of-concept being Pokémon cards.

Cyan has spent the past three years building a robust lending protocol for an asset class affected by hype and unfortunate timing. As the narrative for RWAs grows, NFTs will regain importance. The team identified TrueFi as an ideal partner, given the project’s strong reputation and impressive community. By working with Cyan, TrueFi will benefit from proven vault and lending technology.

State of TrueFi:
2024 was a challenging year due to a lack of liquidity and overall risk aversion. However, 2025 has seen a reversal of this trend with the general awareness of cryptocurrency in developed nations, David Sar as cryptocurrency head in the US, and the SEC dropping many cases related to accusations of projects being securities. Market participants and VCs are now deploying capital into infrastructure in anticipation of traditional finance migrating to the blockchain.

The landscape for credit financing has also changed drastically, with many RWA protocols backed by established institutions entering the market. New protocols such as Ondo Finance, Ethena, Alloy by Tether, and Usual DAO demonstrate a growing appetite for decentralized and transparent stablecoins backed by real-world instruments and strategies.

TrueFi is well-positioned to be a leader in an industry it has helped shape. With the protocol’s strong reputation and smart community, TrueFi deserves to be at the forefront of DeFi.

How Cyan’s Development Fits with TrueFi:
Cyan was established in early 2022 by an ex-hedge fund manager and an ex-Googler. As the protocol grew, the team built an NFT lending platform that offered better risk rewards for both the borrower and the lender. Since launching v2, a smart contract wallet was integrated to allow borrowers to control assets while on loan, but not be able to sell or transfer them out.

The protocol is well-suited to facilitate RWA loans through ERC-20, ERC-721, and ERC-1155 onchain assets across mainnet and multiple layer-2s. The benefit is the immediacy of execution by leveraging Cyan’s protocol into TrueFi to create a leading protocol for RWA stablecoins.

RWA stablecoins are a significant movement, with Ethena having $3.5 billion in TVL and the rise of major players like Usual DAO. The potential for RWAs is projected to reach $10 trillion by 2030, with institutions like BlackRock and Fidelity already deploying proofs of concept and dedicated funds. Many RWA protocols are building on top of established non-fungible technologies, which Cyan is well-suited to integrate.

The industry is advancing around ERC-20 technology and will integrate non-fungible solutions (ERC-721, ERC-1155) for financial products in the future. TrueFi, known for its Credit Vaults, is set to benefit from this trend but needs additional yield strategies and a method to back RWA stablecoins to attract more liquidity. Cyan can bridge this gap with its vault technology and smart contract escrow solution.

Moreover, the introduction of Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs is rapidly bringing the masses to blockchain, a trend that will continue as traditional finance migrates to on-chain solutions. TrueFi deserves to be at the forefront of this significant shift, capitalizing on these opportunities. To stay relevant and not become obsolete despite its historical success, TrueFi must adapt to these evolving market demands and integrate innovative solutions to maintain its competitive edge.

Proposal:
We request 275,000 USD equivalent in TRU to fund the merge and maintenance of the Cyan protocol into the TrueFi protocol for the next 6 months. The funding would come from minting new TRU tokens.

Cyan would like to build the following into the TrueFi dapp:

1. Integrate Cyan’s protocol to bridge credit funding to RWAs as NFTs (ERC-721 & ERC-1155). This will bring new lending opportunities to assets outside of financial instruments, including but not limited to collectibles such as Pokémon cards, Patek Philippe watches, Birkin bags, and more.

2. Rebrand and rebalance the existing Cyan vaults, denominated in USDC, ETH, and APE, into TrueFi to start earning 20%+ yields on existing Cyan lending flow.

3. Maintain vaults and grow TVL to boost activity in the TrueFi community with incentives to stakers.

4. Potentially work with lenders and borrowers to build new collateralized or uncollateralized vaults on non-legacy technology and know-how, leveraging Cyan’s knowledge base of debt vault infrastructure.

If approved, our engagement will formally begin on July 1, 2025, and last until December 31, 2025. The TrueFi protocol may choose to extend the contract upon a community vote and a new proposal from the Cyan team.

The 275,000 USD in equivalent TRU tokens would be allocated as follows:

• 4,167 USD per month for vault TVL level maintenance (25,000 USD total)
• 41,667 USD per month for the development and management of the protocol (250,000 USD total)

The token payments will be made with an upfront payment of 20% of the contract (55,000 USD) worth in TRU, and the remainder to be a Sablier Stream. As with other contract proposals for TRU, Cyan also requests a 20% buffer for price fluctuations of TRU.

Deliverables:

Here is the schedule for deliverables:

• July 2025: Beta version of a new Cyan interface rebranded as TrueFi NFT
• August 2025: Start of airdrop incentive for Vault token holders
• September 2025: Determine PMF and develop a call-overwriting vault
• September ~ November 2025: Extend support for RWA assets and protocols
• December 2025: Review of deliverables, raise a new proposal to continue

What We Intend to Accomplish:
If approved, we will immediately start rebranding activities with the existing engineering headcount at Cyan. The focus of this proposal is on the growth and launch of new products to TrueFi to bring the protocol into the RWA and NFT business.

The Cyan protocol has the potential to provide stable revenues every month as long as TVL is maintained. The estimated monthly revenues could reach 10,000 USDC if utilization rates are near 100% at the current TVL of near 700,000 USDC. Revenues will accumulate into the TrueFi Timelock Contract.

Tasks are listed below and are also available in an easier-to-digest Google Sheet, which will be available to the community.

Task	Effort	Description
Support wind-down or restructuring of non-core legacy assets	BEST EFFORT	Continue to support the resolution of legacy assets including restructuring, liquidation, or other measures with borrower/partner engagement.
Maintain reporting infra for legacy assets	SURE	Maintain and improve internal tools to track and report on performance, valuation, and statuses of legacy assets.
Support TrueFi DAO in decision-making on legacy assets	BEST EFFORT	Provide assessments and recommendations on legacy assets to support DAO governance and tokenholder alignment.
Maintain bug reporting and security response process	SURE	Continue current bug bounty and patch processes; coordinate with Archblock as needed.
Merge Cyan Vaults into TrueFi	BEST EFFORT	Develop and execute a plan to unify Cyan Vaults into the broader TrueFi protocol, simplifying architecture and branding.
Build and deploy Call Overwrite Vault	BEST EFFORT	Design, develop, and launch a Call Overwrite Vault product under TrueFi to diversify offerings and revenue streams.
Maintain documentation and demos of new and existing TrueFi products	SURE	Documentation overhaul with additional demo and instructional videos.
Maintain Dune Analytics dashboards	SURE	Continue to maintain and build upon TrueFi’s presence on Dune Analytics. (example: https://dune.com/truefi/truefi-overview)
Make dapp accessible without having to sign in	SURE	To improve UX for new users, make the dapp visible to users who haven’t logged in through a wallet.

Team:
Cyan is already equipped with a team of 4 experienced professionals from finance, engineering, blockchain, and consumer products, who will dedicate the next 6 months to TrueFi development. With the acceptance of this proposal, the engineering team will solely focus on merging Cyan into TrueFi. For details on the team, please follow this link.

The budget will not cover other overhead expenses as we do not have an office, cover travel expenses ourselves, and have an established legal structure in place. The proposed monthly budget for the team is quoted at cost, with no premium added.

Reporting Expectations:
Cyan will post bi-weekly updates on the TrueFi Discord server. A detailed update will be provided every quarter on the multiple epics being developed and KPI data around deliverables.

The Google Sheet will serve as a page community members can use to keep up to date on progress.

The Cyan team is available 24/7 to answer any questions on Telegram and Email.

Out of Scope:
Cyan’s proposal does not cover the following:

• TrueFi DAO/Foundation legal, compliance, and accounting expenses
• Marketing (e.g., conference sponsorships, X, Discord) or PR expenses
• Core services used by TrueFi DAO, like hosting services, Github, Infura, etc

We are planning to post updates on Telegram to engage with the community at TrueFi.

Next Governance Steps:
As the proposal does not fall under the simplified governance exemptions, the proposal will require the following steps:

1. Forum Posting: A 72-hour posting period on the forum to allow the community to provide feedback.
2. Snapshot Vote: A 48-hour Snapshot vote will be conducted with the options, “OK to vote on Tally,” “Not OK to vote on Tally,” and “Abstain.” At least 5% of staked TRU must participate in this Snapshot vote to meet the quorum.
3. Amendment Period: If the 5% quorum is met, with a majority negative vote, a 72-hour period will follow to allow for any amendments or discussions before the proposal is posted to Tally.
4. Tally Vote: Otherwise, the proposal will be posted to Tally for the final vote.

[Suvicrypto]

I think its an interesting synergy with NFTs both as an asset and as a way to represent RWA.

Looking forward to seeing this on Snapshot!

[sebdavies]

Thank you to the Cyan team for submitting a thoughtful and forward-looking proposal. I agree with much of the rationale behind this initiative and appreciate the team’s experience, traction, and willingness to integrate deeply with TrueFi. The focus on vault technology, NFT-backed lending, and real-world assets (RWAs) aligns well with TrueFi’s long-term strategy and the broader DeFi shift toward utility, programmability, and stablecoin-based financial infrastructure.

Cyan’s track record—including ~$25M in loan volume and multi-year protocol uptime—is encouraging. The outlined deliverables, from vault rebranding and ERC-721/1155 integration to the development of new yield products like the Call Overwrite Vault, present meaningful opportunities to diversify TrueFi’s credit strategies and expand into new asset classes. I also appreciate the team’s transparency around reporting and the responsible use of token streaming.

That said, I have reservations about the proposed timeline.

Having visibility into the ongoing work behind the scenes at TrueFi, I can say with confidence that there is already a considerable amount of operational restructuring underway. As part of the move away from external partners, the DAO and Foundation are actively addressing legacy access issues, payment logistics, legal entity restructuring, and internal ownership transitions—essential efforts that are not always visible externally but are critical to the protocol’s long-term success. A public update on these initiatives is expected soon.

Trying to onboard a new development partner and execute a technically ambitious integration within just a few weeks introduces material execution risk. The proposed timeline assumes flawless delivery—something rarely realistic in either crypto or traditional markets.

In the “real world”, boards often spend months planning major integrations. While this isn’t a conventional M&A transaction, the complexity is comparable, and we should treat it with similar discipline. Two weeks’ notice, amidst ongoing foundational cleanup, starts to look less like efficient progress and more like hasty capital allocation.

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Suggested Amendment

I’d strongly recommend amending the proposal to begin on September 1, 2025, giving the Foundation and DAO operators the necessary time to:

• Finalize restructuring and solidify internal ownership,
• Refine the technical integration plan,
• Define clear KPIs and implementation milestones,
• And ensure community alignment around expectations and priorities.

This is not a reflection on Cyan’s capability or intentions—it’s a matter of sequencing and risk management. A brief delay will improve execution readiness and increase the likelihood of long-term success for both sides.

In conclusion: I support this proposal in principle and believe Cyan can bring real value to TrueFi. But I’d prefer to see the start date moved to September 1 to ensure we’re building on solid ground.

[Cyan]

@sebdavies

Thank you for the thoughtful suggestion and for your kind words about our TFIP. We really appreciate the thorough review!

There’s definitely flexibility within the mandate, and we’re open to adjusting the TFIP milestones to better support TrueFi’s existing initiatives from July through September. Once those efforts are wrapped up, we’d then shift focus toward merging the two protocols in September. We’re confident the team can integrate smoothly with the existing teams and start helping from July.

In addition, our protocol already has active TVL and LPs, which we believe would be valuable to bring into the broader TrueFi ecosystem from day 1.

Looking forward to continued collaboration and feedback from the community.

[sebdavies]

Appreciate the quick response and the openness to feedback. It’s clear the Cyan team has put real thought into how this integration could work within the broader context of where TrueFi is headed.

Given that a July start date is likely to move forward, one suggestion would be to extend the engagement by a month on the back-end, through January 31, 2026, at the same total cost. This would help accommodate what I suspect will be a slower onboarding phase as existing restructuring efforts continue into July. Extending the tail end without increasing budget or scope gives both teams more time to properly execute, align on deliverables, and ensure we aren’t compressing important milestones.

On a related note, I’d love to learn more about the August 2025 airdrop incentive for Vault token holders:

• Who is eligible (e.g., Cyan vault LPs only, or the broader TrueFi ecosystem)?
• What form the incentives will take (TRU? USDC? Something else?)
• Whether this initiative is included within the current TRU request or would be funded separately

These details would help the community assess how the airdrop fits with broader user incentives and protocol objectives.

Looking forward to continuing the dialogue and seeing this develop.

[Cyan]

@sebdavies

Thank you for the reply! Likewise, we appreciate your thoughts and questions.

We think your idea of extending the contract out to January 31st, 2026 at the same cost is prudent. We’ll adjust the proposal accordingly when submitting to Tally.

As for the airdrops, here is how we are looking to setup:

Who is eligible (e.g., Cyan vault LPs only, or the broader TrueFi ecosystem)?
All Cyan Vault token holders in the USDC and ETH vaults are automatically eligible for the airdrops

What form the incentives will take (TRU? USDC? Something else?)
Airdrops would be in the form of vault injections (eg. vault token appreciates by the proportionate amount of airdrop) in the respective currency the vault is in. So the USDC Vault would have a monthly airdrop of USDC, and the ETH Vault a monthly airdrop in ETH. Vault token holders won’t have to take any action as the airdrop will be reflected in the vault token price.

Whether this initiative is included within the current TRU request or would be funded separately
The airdrop amount is inclusive of the requested funding amount, which is 25,000 USD of the 275,000 USD requested. We plan to distribute over the course of our engagement, from July 1st, 2025 to January 31st, 2026.

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We hope this clarifies, and we’re happy to address any further concerns. Looking forward to reading more from you and the community!

[Nobody]

This seems surreal. Please, no spending on new projects until Elara is launched.

[sebdavies]

Totally understand where this concern is coming from. Especially given the history of TrueFi and how critical Elara is to our next chapter. That said, progress on Elara has been solid, and the fundraising conversations are advancing to a point where we’re optimistic about next steps.

Importantly, the teams have been effectively split, with the Elara-focused group operating in its own silo. This separation allows the Foundation and board to evaluate proposals like Cyan’s without compromising the attention Elara requires.

Rather than treat Elara and broader protocol growth as strictly sequential efforts, we’re starting to plan for what comes next. The Cyan proposal fits into that forward-looking vision—positioning TrueFi to re-engage on new fronts as the core infrastructure gets finalized.

So while I completely hear the desire to stay focused, I think this can be done in parallel—without distraction, and with intention.

[Don]

Hello, sebdavies. I am glad to get some information about Elara from your reply. As I have always emphasized, we are not professionals. We invest in $TRU to make a profit. This year, $TRU has broken ATL twice, which has disappointed everyone with $TRU and TrueFi. We know that investment is risky, any investment is our personal behavior, and the price of $TRU is determined by the market. Although $TRU broke ATL twice, we did not complain, because we knew that Elara would be the Ace of TrueFi, so we have been waiting and full of hope for Elara. In fact, we don’t know how Elara works, what impact it will have on the revolution and innovation of the industry, and whether it will be welcomed and recognized by the market after it launch. I know that if we have been opposing the construction of various proposals, TrueFi will be difficult to build. But as I mentioned before, we have been deceived too much in the past. We have always agreed to various proposals and gave money in various ways, but we have not received delivery and achievements. We are not professional investors. In our eyes, every time the $TRU price dump very strongly, but there is no motivation when it rebounds. Everyone may think that the market does not recognize TrueFi, and the product cannot be delivered, so it loses trust. As I mentioned in the post ‘Thoughts and suggestions on improving transparency’, many partners directly transferred $TRU to the Exchanges and sold it after receiving it. This forms a vicious circle, because there is no good news to the market, and no one in the market buys $TRU, while partners can receive tokens without doing anything, and then transfer the tokens to the Exchanges to sell. As it is, the only good news we know about TrueFi is the launch of Elara. If this year is a bull market and next year is a bear market, then Elara will be our last hope to $TRU this year. We don’t know if there will be a altcoins season this year, and if the altcoins season comes, what price $TRU can reach, no one knows. But what we know is that if Elara is launched, the price performance of $TRU is still so poor, and we lose. And now we have been waiting for a long time, and we still haven’t seen any news from Elara. Remember the DAO report in Q1? Launch of the Polaris MVP, but now it’s Q3, and we still can’t see any products. Although the reports were perfect, there was never an explanation as to why the project was delayed or abandoned.

[Nobody]

You’re a vulture picking at truefi’s remaining bones.

I’ve been here since Alameda put $4 million into Truefi as a part of a $12 million dollar raise.. I really resent Rafael Cosman leaving us to deal with the likes of you.

[cp0x]

While I appreciate the intention behind this proposal, I believe it primarily benefits Cyan, but offers very limited value for TrueFi and its community.

Here are the key concerns:

1. Lack of Protocol Activity
   A review of Cyan’s on-chain activity shows that:
   • There is only one active user.
   • Just four transactions were made over the past month.
   • The protocol’s TVL is nearly zero.
   • The website is entirely empty — a blank black screen, with no product visible.
2. Questionable Value for Money
   Given this level of inactivity, it is very difficult to justify the $275,000 requested. There is no evidence that Cyan currently has a viable product or active user base to justify this amount.
3. No Alignment of Incentives
   The proposal doesn’t offer any shared upside with TrueFi:
   • There is no revenue-sharing agreement.
   • There is no mechanism for TrueFi to benefit from any potential success of Cyan’s RWA vaults.

At this point, the proposal appears to be an expense with no return for TrueFi. I would be much more supportive of a structure where TrueFi shares in the upside of Cyan’s vaults or receives clear deliverables tied to measurable outcomes. Otherwise, this feels like a misuse of DAO funds

[Suvicrypto]

I think the intention is to send the revenue generated from Cyan Vaults to Truefi as part of this proposal.

The NFT activity over time has been solid, and yield rates are also good.

There is a lot of promise on using NFTs as a representantive of a RWA.

[cp0x]

I’m not saying that Cyan will take all the profit — my point is that the project currently generates zero revenue. So what does TrueFi actually gain from this?
There’s some potential, sure, but no guarantees or even strong expectations.
Meanwhile, the DAO is losing money on a product that, at the moment, nobody is using

[sebdavies]

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to contribute to this discussion. I appreciate the passion and thoughtful perspectives being shared, particularly around $TRU’s performance, past governance, and what Elara represents for the future of the protocol. The level of engagement here reflects how much the community still cares, and that’s a strength we should build on.

And while one commenter called me a vulture, I’m more often compared to a bald eagle — mostly because of my haircut. In either case, I’m circling because I care…

On Elara

Elara remains the core focus for TrueFi. The team — now five full-time contributors — is making strong progress, and the MVP is nearly complete. This is on time, on budget and should serve as a meaningful catalyst for ongoing fundraising conversations. Importantly, Elara is now being built by a dedicated team with minimal overlap with the Foundation or Board, which provides space to explore other strategic initiatives without taking attention away from launch.

On the Cyan Proposal

Rather than passively waiting for Elara’s success, we believe it’s important to begin laying the groundwork for TrueFi’s next chapter. Cyan offers an interesting way to accelerate that timeline. As part of the proposal, four experienced developers would join our new in-house engineering hire. This significantly increases our capacity to move faster on protocol-level improvements, vault infrastructure, and integrations — all at a very efficient cost.

Cyan brings:

• Live vault infrastructure and lending logic already in place,
• A viable vertical in NFT-backed RWA lending,
• Tech that TrueFi would fully own going forward,
• And a path to offering new forms of RWA exposure via NFTs, which has precedent and growing interest

While the protocol is still early, the lift to integrate is relatively light, and we’re starting from a small base — meaning even modest success could be meaningful. This isn’t about making a big bet, but about taking advantage of a low-cost, high-leverage opportunity that complements the long-term roadmap.

TrueFi Today

We are not standing still. Elara is moving on schedule. We’ve been cited in recent RWA lending whitepapers. $TRU has been trending on platforms like CoinMarketCap. None of that was paid for. The blog has returned, creating more open communication and helping to rebuild a sense of momentum. There is real activity happening across the ecosystem, and we’re working to make sure that story gets told.

Looking Ahead

We remain fully committed to Elara, and that work continues with focus and urgency. At the same time, Cyan presents a chance to expand TrueFi’s surface area, bring in quality devs, and diversify our credit stack with something that could become a meaningful revenue stream.

With the right structure around KPIs, clear deliverables, and shared upside for the DAO, this could be a smart step forward.

Thanks again to everyone engaging in the conversation. Healthy debate like this is what strong governance looks like — and it’s how we move TrueFi forward together.

[Jamm]

Lets Go truefi team I’m super hyped!!