The Teller Protocol is similar to that of a limit order book, which enables borrowers to use data outside of a blockchain (off-chain data) with loan requests on a blockchain or on-chain. Based on the data provided or required, lenders and borrowers that have matching bids and asks transact directly. According to Teller's announcement, those requesting to borrow assets propose a loan request, and those supplying assets commit those assets to loan requests of their choosing.
"Unsecured lending is a thorny problem in the pseudonymous on-chain world and one of the largest opportunities for DeFi," said Bart Stephens, co-founder and managing partner of Blockchain Capital. "The Teller Protocol enables traditional and crypto native lenders to use the best credit scoring techniques possible while preserving privacy and tapping into decentralized liquidity pools."
According to Teller, DeFi protocols today account for more than $200 billion in total value locked, mainly from overcollateralized lending and trading applications. Teller is convinced that the undercollateralized market is becoming the next sector of DeFi.
Institutional lenders and capital providers using the Teller Protocol will have the opportunity to create their own automated data-driven criteria for committing assets to lend based on rules and filtered by borrower request information. Teller hopes this new layer of DeFi will broaden the appeal of DeFi in global capital markets.