TrueFi

What TrueFi does

TrueFi is a decentralized finance (DeFi) credit protocol founded in November 2020, originally operating under TrustToken in the United States. The protocol enables uncollateralized, collateral-free lending through smart contracts on public blockchains, serving crypto-focused institutions as well as real-world firms including fintech companies, trading firms, and credit funds. Since launch, TrueFi has originated over $1.7 billion in loans across more than 30 borrowers and distributed over $40 million in interest payments, with a publicly claimed zero-default track record on uncollateralized loans.

The protocol's core technology consists of smart-contract-based lending infrastructure organized into modular components — Lines of Credit, Asset Vaults, Credit Vaults, and Index Vaults — supporting both crypto-native and real-world asset (RWA) lending use cases. TrueFi operates as a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) governed via the TRU token (now transitioning to the BRLA token) using Snapshot voting and the Tally governance platform. Day-to-day product development, business development, and operations are delivered by contracted service providers including Wallfacer Labs and Akemona Technologies under governance-approved proposals.

TrueFi's revenue model is based on protocol transaction fees on lending activity within its smart-contract ecosystem, supplemented historically by a $12.5 million equity/token round raised in August 2021 led by Blocktower with participation from Andreessen Horowitz (A16z) and Alameda Research. Distribution is community-led and self-serve: borrowers and lenders interact directly via the Brila app (app.brila.finance) without intermediaries, and go-to-market is driven through the TrueFi governance forum, social media, governance proposals, and bounty referral programs. In March 2026, the TrueFi community approved the TFIP-41 proposal, restructuring the protocol into a new Panama-based holding company called Brila with its own BRLA governance token (35% allocated to legacy TRU holders); Brila subsequently launched the Elara treasury management platform in June 2026.

Name

TrueFi

Legal name

TrustToken

Website

https://truefi.io

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

TrueFi is a DeFi credit protocol founded in 2020 that enables uncollateralized on-chain lending to crypto-focused institutions and real-world firms via smart contracts, recently restructured into the Panama-based Brila entity with its BRLA governance token and Elara treasury platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Decentralized Finance (DeFi) Lending Protocol

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Finance Services (6199), Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Decentralized Lending & Borrowing Protocols (FSADAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Decentralized Lending & Credit Markets (overcollateralized/undercollateralized, P2P) (FSAPAEAA), DAO Treasury, Governance & On-Chain Finance Tools (FSADAMAL), Institutional DeFi & On-Chain Liquidity Infrastructure (Permissioned DeFi, Lending) (FSAGAMAG)

Keywords

• DeFi lending protocol
• Uncollateralized lending
• RWA lending
• Decentralized credit market
• Smart contract lending

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Loan Interest Payments: Protocol generates revenue from interest paid by borrowers on originated loans. Over $40 million in interest has been distributed to protocol participants historically.
2. Protocol Fees: Revenue generated from protocol fees on transactions within the TrueFi/Brila ecosystem. A fee holiday for tfBILL was discussed and extended in governance proposals.
3. Funding for Operations: TrustToken raised $12.5 million in 2021 funding led by Blocktower with participation from Andreessen Horowitz and Alameda Research to support hiring, operational growth, and strategic investments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

TrueFi operates a decentralized finance (DeFi) lending protocol that enables uncollateralized and collateral-free loans through smart contracts, connecting global lenders with institutional-grade borrowers including crypto-focused institutions, fintech companies, trading firms, and credit funds. Since its November 2020 launch, the protocol has originated over $1.7 billion in loans across more than 30 borrowers and distributed over $40 million in interest payments, with no defaults on uncollateralized loans. Following the March 2026 restructuring under Brila, the platform now offers the Elara treasury management platform built on concentrated liquidity infrastructure with the BRLA governance token.

Product overview

TrueFi operates as a modular DeFi lending infrastructure spanning multiple products. The original TrueFi protocol (launched November 2020) is an uncollateralized lending platform that has originated over $1.7 billion in loans across more than 30 borrowers and distributed over $40 million in interest. Following restructuring approved via TFIP-41 in March 2026, TrueFi transitioned to Brila, a Panama-based holding company with the new BRLA governance token. Brila offers the Elara treasury management platform for concentrated liquidity infrastructure and collateralized debt positions targeting 10-15% net yield.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brila: Restructured successor to TrueFi, a Panama-based holding company with the BRLA governance token.
• Elara

Products and services

• TrueFi Protocol An uncollateralized DeFi lending platform that enables collateral-free loans without defaults, connecting global lenders with institutional-grade borrowers including crypto-focused institutions, fintech companies, trading firms, and credit funds. Operated by TrustToken as a modular smart-contract based protocol.
• Brila The restructured successor to TrueFi, a Panama-based holding company with new governance token BRLA. Brila offers the Elara treasury management platform and connects lenders, borrowers, and portfolio managers via smart contracts. 35% of BRLA was allocated to legacy TRU holders.
• Elara Treasury Management Platform Treasury management platform designed to convert community demand into protocol reserves through concentrated liquidity infrastructure and a collateralized debt position module targeting 10-15% net yield.
• BRLA Token Governance token for the Brila Protocol (successor to TrueFi's TRU token), connecting lenders, borrowers, and portfolio managers via smart contracts. 35% was allocated to legacy TRU holders following the March 2026 restructuring.

Quantifiable outcome

• $1.7 billion+ in loans originated
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Wallfacer LabscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerService provider engaged through multiple governance proposals (TFIP-4, TFIP-8, Chapter 2.5, Chapter 3) for product development, business development, and operational support. Multi-year funding arrangements established through DAO governance.
• DWF LabsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMarket maker contracted for TRU token as per governance proposal. Provided market-making services for TrueFi's governance token.
• Akemona TechnologiesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCore product and business development service provider as proposed under TFIP-21 governance proposal.
• Cicada PartnersminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerManaged pools and services provider. TFIP-20 addressed discontinuation of Cicada Partners managed pools and services in 2024.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Goldfinch: Goldfinch is a DeFi credit protocol enabling uncollateralized lending to real-world borrowers in emerging markets, directly comparable to TrueFi's collateral-free lending model and RWA focus.
• Maple Finance: Maple Finance is a decentralized credit marketplace offering undercollateralized loans to institutional borrowers, directly competing with TrueFi's core use case and sharing a similar target customer base of crypto-native trading firms and market makers.
• Clearpool: Clearpool is a decentralized credit marketplace for institutional borrowers seeking uncollateralized liquidity, overlapping with TrueFi on borrower type, use case, and lending architecture.

Emerging players

• Centrifuge: Centrifuge is a decentralized protocol for tokenized real-world assets and on-chain credit, directly comparable to TrueFi's RWA lending thesis but with a heavier focus on asset tokenization infrastructure.
• Liquity: Liquity is a decentralized borrowing protocol against ETH collateral, partially comparable to TrueFi's modular credit architecture even though its credit model is fully overcollateralized.
• Morpho: Morpho is an optimized lending protocol built on top of Aave/Compound, increasingly expanding into undercollateralized and RWA credit markets via Morpho Blue — directly threatening TrueFi's niche with deeper base liquidity.
• Frax Finance: Frax Finance is a DeFi stablecoin and lending ecosystem with its own credit markets (Fraxlend) and RWA integration, comparable to TrueFi as a modular DeFi credit stack with treasury-management adjacencies.

Broad incumbents

• MakerDAO: MakerDAO operates the Dai credit system and the Spark lending subDAO, functioning as a broad DeFi credit incumbent with RWA exposure (RWA vaults) that overlaps with TrueFi's institutional credit and RWA strategy.
• Aave: Aave is the largest DeFi lending protocol by TVL, primarily overcollateralized but expanding into RWA and undercollateralized credit. It is the dominant incumbent against which TrueFi differentiates.
• Compound: Compound is a foundational DeFi money market protocol and a broad incumbent in on-chain lending, competing for lender capital and developer mindshare even though its model is overcollateralized.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TrueFiDAO
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/truefi-dao

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors5 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TrueFi