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Connor and co-host James Lovely, an expert in structured financial products, welcome Brandon Goh, CEO and Co-founder of Treehouse Finance, to explore the intersection of traditional finance (TradFi) and decentralized finance (DeFi). Goh shares his journey from Morgan Stanley to crypto, discussing how innovations like Uniswap reshaped his perspective. The conversation covers risk and return in borrowing rates, Ethereum’s proof-of-stake system as a crypto equivalent to the risk-free rate, and the differences between Ethereum and Bitcoin. Goh introduces Treehouse’s T-Asset product, which enhances liquid staking yields through arbitrage strategies, and highlights the importance of decentralized benchmark rates like the Decentralized Offered Rate (D.O.R). They also examine risks such as rehypothecation and the need for reliable data in DeFi, concluding with a discussion on institutional adoption and the infrastructure required for its growth.

Timestamps:

00:00 - Introduction

03:09 - Brandon's Transition from TradFi to Crypto

05:12 - Core Concepts of Borrowing Rates in TradFi

07:59 - On-Chain Rates and Their Implications

09:05 - Comparing Bitcoin and Ethereum as Risk-Free Rates

12:22 - Staking Yield as a Risk-Free Rate Analogy

14:08 - Liquid Staking Explained

21:34 - Treehouse's T-Asset Product Overview

23:46 - Decentralized Finance and Risk Considerations

29:30 - Institutional Involvement in DeFi

31:12 - Expanding to Other Chains and Market Strategy

32:34 - Introduction to Decentralized Offered Rates (DOR)

41:34 - Building a Decentralized Benchmark Rate

48:09 - Incentives and Accuracy in the DOR Framework

Disclaimer: The hosts and the firms they represent may hold stakes in the companies mentioned in this podcast. None of this is financial advice.