CP162: Enable Protocol Revenue Through CNF-Managed Fee Flows

Centrifuge Governance
,
1 
authors: @bhaji
contributors: @martin @imdior
uses-component: CP4
technical-proposal: no
requires-onchain: yes
impacts/modifies: CP143, CP158, CP151
status: rfc
date-proposed: 2025-08-12
date-ended:

Short Summary

As part of the Centrifuge V3 migration, onchain protocol fees are not yet supported. To ensure Centrifuge captures value from the growing demand for tokenized RWAs, the Centrifuge Network Foundation (CNF) proposes to temporarily manage fee collection and distribution. CNF will receive all fees generated by Anemoy-managed products and distribute them to key service providers, with 100% of net fees retained by Centrifuge.

High-level objective

Centrifuge is entering a new phase: for the first time, the protocol will begin generating fee-based revenue. In the early days of the RWA market, growth was driven by waiving fees and offering incentives. That strategy worked for early product testing and evolution.

Now, the market is shifting. RWAs have become institutionalized and in-demand. Allocators want exposure to high-quality, tokenized products, and Centrifuge is leading the charge. The Janus Henderson Anemoy Treasury Fund (JTRSY) is one of the top five tokenized T-Bill funds by TVL. Its follow-on product, the Janus Henderson Anemoy AAA CLO Fund (JAAA), is on track to become the fastest tokenized fund to $1B TVL.

Because protocol-level fee functionality is not yet live in V3, CNF will manage fees for Anemoy. CNF will operate with full transparency and in the best interest of Centrifuge, ensuring service providers are paid, partners are supported, and all net proceeds are retained for the benefit of the protocol. Responsibilities will be transferred back to the DAO when protocol fees are supported. Until then, CNF will provide reports to the Centrifuge DAO.

Background

Centrifuge incubated Anemoy in 2023 to help demonstrate traditional financial institution use cases in DeFi. Anemoy provides a bridge between regulated TradFi structures and Centrifuge infrastructure.

This model has proven successful. Through Anemoy, Centrifuge has brought credible institutions and strong products into the ecosystem, driving TVL growth, protocol adoption, and long-term value creation. While Anemoy issues and operates the funds, it is Centrifuge that captures the upside. Managing fee flows properly is key to ensuring that value accrues to the protocol and its community.

Description of Activity

Until onchain fee functionality is live in Centrifuge V3, CNF will take responsibility for collecting and managing fees associated with Anemoy-issued products. This will be done with Anemoy’s independent fund administrator to ensure accurate fee calculation and oversee the distribution of those fees to service providers and partners. The protocol fee of 50 basis points for JAAA will be changed to 0 (zero) to prepare for this change and the coming V3 migration of the JAAA pool.

Change or improvement

  • CNF will receive all fees charged by Anemoy for products such as JTRSY and JAAA
  • CNF will manage offchain calculation and distribution of fees to key service providers
  • 100% of net proceeds will remain with Centrifuge
  • Anemoy’s protocol fees will be changed to 0 (zero)

Alignment to the mission of Centrifuge DAO

The Centrifuge Network Foundation is governed by a board dedicated to advancing the Centrifuge ecosystem. The onchain fee infrastructure will soon be available. Until then, CNF will serve as a trusted steward, ensuring value flows back to the protocol, partners are incentivized, and strategic growth is supported. This approach balances flexibility for institutional adoption with accountability to the DAO, helping Centrifuge scale sustainably and remain at the forefront of onchain RWAs.

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Hi Bhaji!

We as TAG, appreciate the context provided in the proposal and understand the need for a smooth transition while on-chain protocol fees are not yet live in V3. To fully understand the implications and maintain accurate DAO-level and treasury reporting, we’d like to clarify the following points:

  1. Fee Structure – Will previous fee structure remain or will there be a new structure?

  2. Revenue Forecast – What will be the expected revenue?

  3. Break-even Point – When the arrangement is expected to break even or become profitable.

  4. Blockers – Current blockers preventing onchain protocol fee functionality in V3.

  5. Roadmap – Timeline and milestones for enabling protocol fees onchain.

  6. CFG Token Utility – Expected impact on token utility and value accrual.

  7. Data Access – How TAG can get ongoing access to fee and revenue data for accurate treasury reporting.

  8. Reporting Frequency – How often CNF will report to the DAO on fees collected, distributed, and retained.

Clarity on these points will help ensure alignment, transparency, and smooth coordination during this interim phase.

— Treasury Advisory Group

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Love to read this / see these updates, Bhaji!

This is a great first step toward additional token utility. While we are not quite there yet and this is a necessary stop-gap measure, I’d imagine that in due course the necessary upgrades to V3 will automate this process and fees will be paid in CFG, thereby driving buy pressure on the token for those who do not hold any.

Having said that, however, I am curious about the answers for the questions asked by TAG (via @0xjulcaesar) above. I will be sure to keep up with the ongoing dialogue and hopefully ask a few more questions at our next governance call.

Thanks in advance for not only this but all that you and the rest of the team have been doing to promote Centrifuge since taking over as CEO! :raising_hands:

Gratefully,

Phunky / Ryan

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Hello! All great questions. Answered below.

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Thanks @The_Phunky_One for your continued support! Great to have you in the Centrifuge fam.

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  • With the fee switch turned on, will holders accrue value from staking their $CFG tokens?
  • With this new implementation, what would the expected revenue be on an annualized basis?
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@itsbhaji I still believe that tying protocol revenue to $CFG staking is the most effective and fastest way to align stakeholders. I outlined one approach in my reply to TAG’s “CFG Renaissance: Token Utility Research Report 2025” and would welcome your response and further discussion.

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Based on current TVL projections, we expect topline revenue across all products to be $15M ARR.

$CFG staking is a great way to align stakeholders. I’ll continue the conversation in the “CFG Renaissance: Token Utility Research Report 2025” post with @brave_rabbit_07255

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Good day there!
Since the CFG V3 is live and we are in the migration phase i talked with @WilliamFreude about the onchain vote.
With the migration process of the pools, there is no need to do any on-chain voting on the Centrifuge Legacy chain for the chain.
Which means that the proposal requires only off-chain snapshot voting and approval from CFG token holders.
@itsbhaji, with this information that I just posted above, and with the more than 14 days of discussion, are you OK to move forward with the off-chain voting?
If yes, I’m more than happy to help and assist you with this.
Please let me know.

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Good day there!
The proposal was submitted to GitHub as CP162, and the proposal is now live on Opensquare!

All token holders can vote on it.
The proposal will be open for 7 days. Please cast your vote!

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Capturing protocol revenue is essential for sustainability. I support the CNF interim role if reporting is transparent and on-chain fee collection remains the priority.

1 Like