tLabs first and primary priority described in the proposal is increased TVL and bridge velocity.
An important component of a successful growth campaign will be maintaining tBTC’s status as the most secure and decentralized Bitcoin bridge on the market which requires a credible product roadmap. But it’s true that most of the product upgrades described will not directly drive TVL or bridge velocity, which is proven by the recent success of technically inferior wrapped BTC derivatives.
An important exception may be improvements related to cross-chain tBTC. Currently, Threshold is not able to meet the demand from both new and existing ecosystems for canonical tBTC (much less direct minting). A tBTC app-chain could effectively become an execution environment capable of accepting light clients from any arbitrary chain, rapidly expanding tBTC availability and a direct minting UX across the entire blockchain ecosystem.
The token improvements described in TIP-92 are related to the proposed custody upgrade to BitVM2. While it’s possible to implement TIP-92 and retain a permissioned beta staker program indefinitely, I don’t believe this is a compelling long-term vision to rally behind without meaningful progress towards a permissionless 1-of-N trust assumption.
And, while more speculative of a demand driver, @jakelynch’s ideas around VE-style burn mechanics where integrating ecosystems are incentivized to buy and burn T to attract BTC liquidity, likely fit much better within the architecture of a Threshold app chain.
The majority of the mint is earmarked for a DAO financing. Historically, the DAO has sold T on the market at spot (or at a discount via Olympus bond markets, and other mechanisms, etc.) to cover its expenses and diversify its treasury. In the absence of this TIP, that will presumably remain the case.
Expenses associated with this proposal will replace many of the current DAO expenses and the Treasury Guild can deploy a diversified treasury into yield opportunities. In combination with TIP-92, it’s possible that the network and DAO will achieve profitability (or close to it) and, if TIP-54 is implemented, T may even become deflationary on a pro forma basis.