What is TrueFi (TRU)?

Last verified: May 2026

Nothing here is financial advice. TRU can fall to zero. Always do your own research.

👋 New to this? Just start reading at the top — it begins in plain English and gets more detailed as you scroll. Jump to any level:

🟢 Start simple 🟡 A bit more detail 🟣 Full technical

🟢 The simple version

Plain English — no jargon. Start here.

One sentence

TrueFi is one of the first DeFi uncollateralised lending protocols (November 2020), where stkTRU holders vote on loan approvals and bear default risk — creating aligned incentives where bad credit decisions cost the voters their staked TRU.

stkTRU credit governance

TRU holders stake TRU (stkTRU) to vote on loan approvals from institutional borrowers. stkTRU voters earn yield from approved loans — but if a borrower defaults, stkTRU is seized to cover losses. This aligns incentives: vote for a bad loan, you lose TRU. November 2020 launch made TrueFi one of DeFi's first uncollateralised lending protocols. 2022: Blockwater Technologies default — governance-driven recovery. ~1.45B TRU supply. Builder: TrustToken (also created TrueUSD/TUSD). Is TRU legal in India? Yes. 30% tax, 1% TDS apply.

🟡 A bit more detail

For when you want to go a little deeper.

TRU vs Clearpool vs Maple

All target institutional uncollateralised lending. TrueFi: oldest (2020), on-chain credit voting via stkTRU. Clearpool: single-borrower pools, utilisation-based rates. Maple/Syrup: delegated pool managers. TrueFi evolved toward portfolio managers as primary curators after early on-chain voting limitations showed.

🟣 The full technical picture

For the technically curious.

Key facts

Token: TRU (~1.45B)
Pioneer: First DeFi uncollateralised lending (Nov 2020)
stkTRU: Vote on loans + bear default risk
2022: Blockwater default, governance recovery