Recently, many people are still fixated on APY. Honestly, I really believe that the truly valuable things in DeFi's next phase are no longer about yields.

It's about certainty, friends.

Yesterday, I saw that @TermMaxFi officially announced joining YZi Labs Residency, and the official statement was "The Fixed-rate era is already here." Many might think it's just a common promotional phrase, but if you've been on the chain for a few years, you know this statement carries quite a weight.

Because in the past, the core issue of the entire DeFi lending system was never about high or low returns, but rather that assets and liabilities simply didn't match!

The money you deposit can be withdrawn at any time, but others might borrow it and use it to leverage long-term positions. When the market is good, everyone thinks the system is fine; but once liquidity tightens, borrowing costs spike, and the entire pool can instantly start to trample on each other.

Many people think they are earning a spread, but in essence, they are just betting that nothing will go wrong today.

That's also why large funds can never truly stay long-term in the on-chain fixed income market. Traditional funds fear not volatility but the inability to accurately predict the future.

And the FT/GT model of TermMax is truly impressive because it was the first to break down and price time separately. FT is more like a fixed-income certificate, while GT is a separate debt and leverage risk slice. When borrowing occurs, returns, duration, and costs are locked in advance. This is completely different from the previous model relying on utilization curves in liquidity pools.

Many now like to compare Pendle and Morpho to TermMax, but I always feel they lean more toward on-chain credit issuance, especially after the Roll mechanism was introduced, this feeling has become even more obvious.

In the past, the biggest pain point in DeFi wasn't volatility but maturity! Many positions would die the moment they couldn't be renewed. But Roll essentially stitches the original broken timelines back together. You no longer have to bet daily on what the interest rate will be tomorrow; instead, you can manage your Duration like traditional institutions. This is no longer just earning a spread; it's about scheduling cash flows.

Another point I pay close attention to is that TermMax didn't go the route of large liquidity pools but insisted on isolated collateral markets, with one collateral asset corresponding to one lending asset. This design looks a bit naive, but those who have experienced multiple liquidations understand that sometimes naivety equals safety—at least, someone else's liquidation won't suddenly burn your books.

Recently, on DefiLlama, TermMax's TVL has stabilized above $70 million, and protocol fees have grown significantly. These data points actually indicate that the market is starting to see real funds that are sensitive to maturity and fixed income.

In the past, everyone thought DeFi was about who could get higher yields. Now, it's gradually becoming clear that being able to accurately predict the future is actually more valuable.

@TermMaxFi
The most interesting thing about what they want to do might not be just a better lending protocol but to truly establish an on-chain fixed income market.