# The Problem We Solve

## The Yield vs. Liquidity Trade-off

Today, institutions and capital allocators are forced into an impossible choice:

| Option                          | What You Get              | What You Lose                |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------- | ---------------------------- |
| **Hold Liquidity** (USDC/USDT)  | Instant access to capital | 0% yield, inflationary loss  |
| **Pursue Yield** (Vaults, RWAs) | Returns on capital        | Liquidity, flexibility, time |

**The result:** Capital sits fragmented across siloed ecosystems. Every current yield solution—Ethena, Midas, Morpho—operates as an isolated island. To move capital from Strategy A to Strategy B, you must:

1. Exit to cash
2. Wait for settlement (2-7 days for RWAs)
3. Swap assets on a DEX (pay slippage)
4. Re-enter the new strategy

This is **inefficient money**.

***

## Why Existing Solutions Fall Short

| Model                                       | The Problem                                                                                                   | Foundation's Advantage                                                           |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **White-Label Issuers** (Ethena, Paxos, M0) | **Fragmented Liquidity.** Each issuer creates a siloed ecosystem. Capital cannot flow freely between them.    | **Unified Liquidity.** All strategies share one settlement rail.                 |
| **Yield Vaults** (Morpho, Midas)            | **Illiquid Receipts.** Tokens are just "receipts" for a deposit. You can't spend them or swap them instantly. | **Liquid Money.** Strategy shares can be swapped instantly (T+0).                |
| **Traditional RWAs** (BUIDL, Acred)         | **Access Barriers.** $250K minimum redemptions, $5M minimum investments, KYC requirements.                    | **Permissionless Access.** Participate in institutional yields without barriers. |

***

## The Foundation Solution

Foundation separates the **Accounting Layer** from the **Yield Layer**.

By building all strategies on top of a shared base asset (**USD'**) and a unified accounting engine, we create a "monetary network" where capital flows freely:

```
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                     FOUNDATION ECOSYSTEM                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                             │
│   ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────┐    ┌─────────┐                │
│   │PrimeUSD │◄──►│ USD'    │◄──►│ApolloUSD│                │
│   │(Lending)│    │ (Base)  │    │ (RWAs)  │                │
│   └─────────┘    └────┬────┘    └─────────┘                │
│                       │                                     │
│                       ▼                                     │
│                 ┌─────────┐                                 │
│                 │ OrdUSD  │                                 │
│                 │(Delta-N)│                                 │
│                 └─────────┘                                 │
│                                                             │
│   T+0 Rebalancing: Swap between ANY strategies instantly   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

**What this enables:**

1. **Earn Institutional Yield** — Access RWAs, delta-neutral strategies, and optimized lending
2. **Rebalance Instantly** — Move capital between strategies in one atomic transaction
3. **Retain Full Liquidity** — No exit queues or "cash drag" when switching positions
