On-Chain Yu'ebao: Gimmick or Innovation? In the 1970s, Merrill Lynch, the world's largest financial management company, launched the first cash management account, connecting securities accounts, money market funds, checking, and payment functions. Eligible users could automatically transfer idle cash into interest-bearing instruments, and when customers needed to invest or make payments, the funds were accessed according to account rules. This is likely the origin of the first instance of collateralized interest-bearing in economic history. By 1987, Merrill Lynch had approximately 1.3 million CMA accounts. Other financial institutions began offering similar services, and this function for managing idle balances gradually changed the use of securities accounts. There's a simple economic logic behind this: organizing scattered idle money, entrusting it to assets that can generate cash flow, and then using account, settlement, and liquidity management to reduce the cost for users. Financial services thus began to move towards more derivatives. Now, the same question has arisen in the crypto world. With poor market conditions, users holding large amounts of stablecoins are looking for an asset management protocol to continue generating stable profits. However, ordinary users need to choose protocols, compare assets, understand redemption, and sometimes even cross-chain transactions. Each step takes time and requires judgment. For most, these are hurdles. Thus, the business of "on-chain cash management" has emerged, with major exchanges and institutions vying for a piece of the pie. The names used are varied: some are called "flexible savings," some "interest-bearing wallets," and some "on-chain money market funds." The gimmicks differ, but the underlying logic remains unchanged. TopNod Wallet launched Axil Pot (APT), a product designed specifically for this type of need. From the user's perspective, the path is relatively easy to understand: access the product through the wallet, deposit USDC from Pharos into the Vault, and receive APT representing your investment share. The value of the share changes with the performance of the asset portfolio, and upon redemption, it is exchanged back for USDC according to applicable rules. On the other end are the professionally managed assets. APT primarily connects small-amount consumer loans and buy-now-pay-later receivables in emerging markets. Borrowers repay in installments, or related business arrangements generate revenue; these repayments form the economic basis of the returns. AXIL handles strategy development and risk management; actual loans are issued and managed by selected consumer finance or BNPL partners. Simply put, the on-chain system handles share recording and fund settlement, while returns require the underlying business to continuously generate cash flow. The project's target APY of approximately 8% corresponds to the operating results of a set of assets and will change with asset performance and costs. APT transforms what previously required multiple choices into a relatively clear path. Merrill Lynch integrated money market funds into securities accounts; APT attempts to integrate the profitability of real-world credit assets into on-chain wallets. While their asset risks differ, both answer the same question: what else can financial services do for users when their funds are idle? Idle funds are willing to remain idle not only because of ease of operation and high returns. It needs a more convincing reason: how assets enter, how repayments are generated, and how exits are arranged. APT's solution can be viewed along this funding path. 1. Asset Entry Screening. AXIL conducts due diligence on lending partners' qualifications, finances, historical repayment and delinquency performance, credit granting and collection capabilities, and continuously tracks loan data. Funds also flow to partners and recover repayments through separate paths, reducing the risk of commingling funds with other business operations. 2. Early Exit Liquidity Arrangements. Borrowers repay according to schedule, but users may need USDC much earlier. APT's public design allocates liquid assets such as cash, money market funds, and short-term credit in addition to credit assets to handle daily exit needs and minimize the pressure of temporarily selling loan assets. Product rules also distinguish between two exit paths: T+0 relies on available cash and is subject to a daily limit shared by all holders, approximately 10% of the Vault's asset size; The regular path is T+1 to T+7, also subject to liquidity and product terms. 3. Sustainable Returns. Underlying revenue needs to cover credit losses, asset management and settlement fees, and also bear the costs of maintaining liquidity. Only when this calculation holds true long-term can idle funds have a basis for continuously generating returns. Therefore, my assessment of APTs stems from their chosen approach: supporting returns with real-world business revenue, managing credit through professional screening, and using reserves and tiered exits to accommodate users' fund usage. From Merrill Lynch's securities accounts to today's on-chain wallets, the forms of financial products have changed significantly. However, users' desire remains simple: to make their money grow when there are no better investment opportunities. On-chain Yu'ebao (APT) is opening up a way to generate new interest that is closer to the daily lives of crypto users. It connects the cash flow of real-world assets, the management capabilities of professional institutions, and the accessibility of wallets, making participating in interest generation an easier step in financial planning. The crypto world has already created many trading opportunities. Now, some are also starting to seriously manage those days when they are not trading.