{"version":1,"id":"tycho-onnasch","title":"Tycho Onnasch","summary":"Tycho Onnasch is a person who co-founded Zest Protocol and Deedmob, worked on Bitcoin infrastructure and strategy at Trust Machines/Stacks and Treasury, and speaks and writes about Bitcoin lending and financial products.","content":"**Tycho Onnasch** is a technology and product executive with a background in civic technology, [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) infrastructure, [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi), and product development. He is the Co-Founder of Zest Protocol and Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Treasury-BTC, with previous leadership roles at Trust Machines and Deedmob. [\\[6\\]](#cite-id-G1tDnaJvL9nKVACM) \n\n## Education\n\nOnnasch earned his BA in History and Politics from the University of Oxford. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-vej320s0zt) \n\n## Career\n\nOnnasch began his career in civic technology as Co-Founder, COO, and Head of Product at Deedmob from 2017 to 2020, where he worked on software connecting nonprofit organizations and volunteers. From 2021 to 2023, he served as General Manager at Trust Machines, where he led product development for [Stacks](https://iq.wiki/wiki/stacks), a [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) [Layer 2](https://iq.wiki/wiki/layer-2) network, and worked on [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) research and development. During the same period, he also served as a Mentor at Bitcoin Frontier Fund, supporting founders working on [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin)-related projects. Onnasch has served as Co-Founder of Zest Protocol since 2023, where he works on an on-chain lending protocol focused on [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin). Since September 2025, he has also served as Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Treasury-BTC, working on the company's [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) treasury strategy in Europe. [\\[1\\]](#cite-id-vej320s0zt) \n\n## Interview\n\n### Europe’s Bitcoin Treasury\n\nIn a November 2025 interview with BitcoinYield, Onnasch discussed [Bitcoin's](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) development as a financial asset, the emergence of [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) treasury companies, and the role of [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi). He described his path from studying [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) and [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) to working on [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) infrastructure at Stacks, founding Zest Protocol, and joining Treasury, where he focused on increasing [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) per share and communicating the company's strategy to investors. Onnasch explained that [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) treasury companies had expanded beyond straightforward equity exposure by developing products with different risk and return profiles, potentially broadening access to [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) for institutional investors and debt-focused markets. He also discussed Treasury's efforts to establish a [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) treasury company on a major European exchange, including the legal and financial considerations involved in pursuing a listing and the differences between European and U.S. regulatory environments. Regarding Zest, he described the protocol as a [Stacks](https://iq.wiki/wiki/stacks)-based marketplace where users could earn yield on [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) or borrow against it, with yields at the time largely coming from [Stacks](https://iq.wiki/wiki/stacks)' dual-stacking rewards, while arguing that [Bitcoin's](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) role as [collateral](https://iq.wiki/wiki/collateral) could support additional borrowing, liquidity, and financial products across both [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) and traditional markets. [\\[5\\]](#cite-id-xwwtjdcekq) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](KTephgl8R_Q)\n\n### Breaking Down Bitcoin\n\nIn a September 2023 episode of the Partner Path podcast, Onnasch discussed his background, his early exposure to [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin), and his work in [decentralized finance](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi). He described growing up in Amsterdam, studying at Oxford, and co-founding a volunteering platform that later developed into a software-as-a-service business. Onnasch explained that [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) demonstrated how [smart contracts](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) could support financial activity without relying entirely on traditional intermediaries, while noting that [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) had remained relatively separate from the early [DeFi](https://iq.wiki/wiki/defi) ecosystem. He discussed his work at Trust Machines and the development of Zest Protocol, including [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) lending and yield products, and identified adoption, responsible lending, and transparency as challenges for [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin)-based financial services. The conversation also covered [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) credit, [cryptocurrency](https://iq.wiki/wiki/cryptocurrency) regulation, institutional participation, potential applications of [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) in data and decentralized computing, [mining](https://iq.wiki/wiki/mining) and renewable energy, central bank digital currencies, and Onnasch's interest in pursuing curiosity-driven work with practical impact. [\\[2\\]](#cite-id-ky8e6gys6x) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](PnUNeEt-vhY)\n\n## Presentations\n\n### Bitcoin DeFi\n\nIn an October 2022 presentation at the [Bitcoin Conference](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin-conference) in Amsterdam, Onnasch discussed the need for financial infrastructure that lets individuals and businesses earning [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) borrow against future income and invest in the present. He described existing [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) credit use cases among market makers, miners managing fiat liabilities against future [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) rewards, and businesses accepting [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) payments, while arguing that failures of centralized lenders such as[ Celsius](https://iq.wiki/wiki/celsius-network) and Three Arrows Capital had reduced available credit and exposed weaknesses in opaque lending structures. Onnasch proposed on-chain lending pools in which lending activity and borrower exposure could be publicly audited, with professional delegates underwriting loans and junior capital absorbing initial losses. The proposed Zest Protocol pools would allow [liquidity providers](https://iq.wiki/wiki/liquidity-providers) to fund [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) lending pools, with the first pool planned for market makers in partnership with Maven 11 and Credora and an indicative target of 4–6% BTC APY. He also outlined a technical structure using hash time-locked contracts and [Stacks](https://iq.wiki/wiki/stacks) for [Bitcoin](https://iq.wiki/wiki/bitcoin) deposits and receipt tokens, with pools potentially operating permissionlessly or with access restrictions while borrowers underwent [KYC](https://iq.wiki/wiki/know-your-customer-kyc). The presentation identified credit and default risk and [smart-contract](https://iq.wiki/wiki/smart-contract) risk as key considerations, with loans designed to be undercollateralized based on borrowers’ balance sheets and future earnings rather than secured solely by on-chain [collateral](https://iq.wiki/wiki/collateral). [\\[3\\]](#cite-id-3c6nqzotao) \n\n[YOUTUBE@VID](y04aBin_LDc)\n","categories":[{"id":"people","title":"people"}],"tags":[{"id":"Founder"},{"id":"Developer"},{"id":"Investor"},{"id":"Researcher"},{"id":"Speaker"}],"images":[{"id":"QmbsVgQE9wUJDK74UK1FZaPz75Aou35HsfW6M2RzXzNHXk","type":"image/jpeg, image/png"}],"media":[{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTephgl8R_Q","name":"KTephgl8R_Q","source":"YOUTUBE","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTephgl8R_Q","caption":""},{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnUNeEt-vhY","name":"PnUNeEt-vhY","source":"YOUTUBE","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnUNeEt-vhY","caption":""},{"id":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y04aBin_LDc","name":"y04aBin_LDc","source":"YOUTUBE","thumbnail":"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y04aBin_LDc","caption":""}],"metadata":[{"id":"references","value":"[{\"id\":\"vej320s0zt\",\"url\":\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/tychokoonnasch/\",\"description\":\"LinkedIn profile listing roles, education and location\",\"timestamp\":1790774178179},{\"id\":\"ky8e6gys6x\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnUNeEt-vhY\",\"description\":\"Partner Path podcast in which he described growing up in Amsterdam\",\"timestamp\":1790774178180},{\"id\":\"3c6nqzotao\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y04aBin_LDc\",\"description\":\"Bitcoin Conference presentation on on-chain lending pools\",\"timestamp\":1790774178180},{\"id\":\"m5bupabpno\",\"url\":\"https://x.com/TychoOnnasch\",\"description\":\"Zest Protocol seed-round announcement shared on his profile\",\"timestamp\":1790774178180},{\"id\":\"xwwtjdcekq\",\"url\":\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTephgl8R_Q\",\"description\":\"November 2025 interview describing Zest's marketplace and yield sources\",\"timestamp\":1790774178180},{\"id\":\"G1tDnaJvL9nKVACM\",\"description\":\"Zest Protocol\",\"timestamp\":1790774291235,\"url\":\"https://www.zestprotocol.com/\"}]"},{"id":"twitter_profile","value":"https://x.com/TychoOnnasch"},{"id":"website","value":"https://www.zestprotocol.com/"},{"id":"github_profile","value":"https://github.com/tycho1212"},{"id":"linkedin_profile","value":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/tychokoonnasch/"},{"id":"main-image-origin","value":"{\"imageId\":\"QmbsVgQE9wUJDK74UK1FZaPz75Aou35HsfW6M2RzXzNHXk\",\"originalId\":\"QmbsVgQE9wUJDK74UK1FZaPz75Aou35HsfW6M2RzXzNHXk\"}"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmPqTNiwicTRyUYmWEY7a6vTvRaQkoPHSizAdAAwrjJhJt"},{"id":"commit-message","value":"Update Tycho Onnasch page with minor edits"},{"id":"previous_cid","value":"QmPqTNiwicTRyUYmWEY7a6vTvRaQkoPHSizAdAAwrjJhJt"}],"events":[{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Co-Founder, COO & Head of Product at Deedmob","date":"2017-01-01","description":"Joined Deedmob as co-founder, COO and Head of Product.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"62a9cd3a-4a0e-4329-95d5-eac0c6b27ddb"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Left Deedmob","date":"2021-01-01","description":"Departed Deedmob.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"70701ca9-c972-4300-a6e4-eb497abe53f7"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"General Manager at Trust Machines","date":"2021-01-01","description":"Served as General Manager at Trust Machines (building DeFi apps on Bitcoin).","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"ca041970-85d6-41c0-a43a-88d6f0432a04"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Co-Founder of Zest Protocol","date":"2023-01-01","description":"Co-founded Zest Protocol, an on-chain lending protocol built for Bitcoin.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"868bb117-c072-4281-8e2d-3a8f436ad2b3"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Left Trust Machines to build Zest Protocol full-time","date":"2023-12-01","description":"Left Trust Machines to work on Zest Protocol full-time.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"afd0ca97-34ea-4656-9cb2-a7b7725eec92"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Zest Protocol seed raise announced","date":"2024-05-01","description":"Zest Protocol announced a $3.5M seed raise.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"148f6ea5-4e99-4645-85d1-7888d682482a"},{"type":"DEFAULT","title":"Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Treasury-BTC","date":"2025-09-01","description":"Named Head of Bitcoin Strategy at Treasury-BTC.","link":null,"multiDateStart":null,"multiDateEnd":null,"id":"217bf6ea-5af2-4e69-88b2-f1b22279a966"}],"linkedWikis":{"founders":[],"blockchains":[],"speakers":[]},"user":{"id":"0x8af7a19a26d8fbc48defb35aefb15ec8c407f889"},"author":{"id":"0xacb6c5AD52b8f605299B0d774CE97F26e3DB80c2"},"language":"en","operator":{"id":"0xacb6c5AD52b8f605299B0d774CE97F26e3DB80c2"}}