#21: Dion Chu, Term Finance | Beyond Variable Rates, DeFi's Fixed Income Future

Please like, subscribe, and leave a positive review. It helps us get the show in front of more listeners and viewers (Apple, Spotify , YouTube)Today’s guest is Dion Chu, Co-founder and CEO of Term Finance, a fixed-rate lending protocol. Term has raised over 7mm led by Electric Capital. Their token just recently went live and is trading on top exchanges like Kraken* Ryan: https://x.com/RyanRodenbaugh* Wallfacer: https://x.com/wallfacerlabs* Vaults.fyi: https://x.com/vaultsfyi* Dion Chu: https://x.com/dionchu* Term Labs: https://x.com/term_labsTimestamps: * 00:09 - Introduction to Dion Chu and Term Finance * 00:28 - What Term Finance does and what makes it unique in the lending space * 01:04 - The auction mechanism and insights that led to Term Finance's approach * 06:04 - How treasury auction mechanisms were adapted for DeFi * 09:02 - Potential for collusion in auction markets 10:29 - Supply and demand dynamics in Term Finance's market * 13:02 - Approaches to cultivating more lending capital * 15:03 - Impact of low variable rates across DeFi on Term's rates * 18:18 - Overview of Term's product suite (auctions, blue sheets, meta vaults) * 21:43 - Collateral preferences and makeup from borrowers * 23:26 - Cross-chain expansion and differences between Ethereum and Avalanche * 27:14 - Selling points for institutional capital and family offices * 28:56 - Security benefits of Term's architecture * 31:18 - Token launch learnings and advice for other founders * 36:24 - Next innovations and improvements planned for Term * 37:31 - Original vision of success and how goals have evolved This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit wallfacerlabs.substack.com