Business model
Who pays what, why the loans are fixed rate and fixed date, and what comes next.
The market
Mezo pays veBTC holders to keep their Bitcoin locked: chain fees, votes that steer emissions, and incentives on those votes. Until now that Bitcoin could not back a loan without ending the lock first. Mezo's own FAQ answers "Can I use my locked BTC as collateral?" with "No." (Mezo veBTC FAQ).
Doji is the market between two groups:
- veBTC holders who need MUSD without ending their lock or giving up its votes and rewards.
- MUSD holders who want a fixed return to a known date, backed by locked Bitcoin.
The live numbers, Bitcoin locked as veBTC on Mezo, MUSD on offer and the best rate for each Thursday, are on the landing page, read from the chain.
Who pays what
| Who | Pays | When |
|---|---|---|
| Borrowers | Interest at the lender's fixed rate, from the moment the offer is taken to the Thursday | In the fixed amount owed on the date. Repaying early still costs the full amount. |
| The protocol's share | 10% of that interest, issued as the protocol's own credit units at the same date | At each fill. The units are paid like any lender's and share any loss at that date pro rata, so the protocol is paid in full only when its lenders are. |
| A borrower whose loan is auctioned or settled | A penalty of 5% of the debt | Only out of what is left above the debt, after lenders are paid. In BTC when the loan settles in BTC. |
There is no other fee. Posting, cancelling, repaying, rolling, withdrawing, claiming and redeeming cost only Mezo gas, paid in BTC.
For example, 1,000 MUSD lent at 6% for 28 days earns 4.60 MUSD of interest. The lender is owed 1,004.14 MUSD and the protocol holds 0.46 units at that date.
Why fixed rate and fixed date
- The lender knows the return and the date before lending. The borrower knows the cost and the date before borrowing. Neither moves with a pool's utilisation.
- veBTC locks end on Thursday 00:00 UTC and Mezo's epochs turn then. A Thursday loan date lines up with the lock it is backed by.
- One market per Thursday keeps risk where it belongs: a bad loan in one week never touches another, and every unit at a date is interchangeable with every other, so a claim on a date can change hands.
- Mezo has written about fixed-rate, fixed-term Bitcoin credit (How to build a Bitcoin-backed credit market, August 2026). Doji builds that shape of market for MUSD and veBTC.
What keeps it safe enough to grow
The limits come from nine years of Bitcoin prices (Risk settings). A failing loan is sold in a protected auction or settled in Bitcoin, never dumped on a thin market (If a loan goes wrong). The contracts cannot be upgraded, and every setting the owner can touch sits inside hard bounds and is copied into each loan (Security).
What comes next
- Idle offer money earning in sMUSD, Mezo's MUSD savings vault, while it waits for a borrower. sMUSD exists only on mainnet, so this part will be proven against mainnet state.
- A place to sell credit units before their date, so lenders can exit early.
- Rewards that pay the loan down: a borrower's rewards applied to what they owe.
- A proposal to Mezo for a gauge on Doji's markets, so veBTC votes can steer MEZO emissions toward them.