Proposal: Bringing Venus to Hardware Wallets via Strategic Integration with Arculus

Summary

The Vanguard Team proposes a strategic partnership with Arculus to integrate Venus Protocol directly into their hardware-secured wallet platform, expanding access to security-conscious users and driving significant TVL growth.

This proposal recommends that Venus Protocol pursue a strategic integration with Arculus, a leading hardware-secured wallet platform developed by CompoSecure (NASDAQ: CMPO).

The goal is to enable Venus lending, borrowing, and staking services to be accessed natively within the Arculus App.

With hundreds of thousands of security-conscious users and a growing institutional footprint, Arculus represents a high-value distribution channel for Venus — perfectly aligned with our roadmap to expand secure, user-friendly, and compliant access to DeFi.

This collaboration is the direct result of the ongoing relationship-building and negotiation efforts, reflecting months of behind-the-scenes work by the Vanguard team to position Venus as a preferred DeFi partner within the Arculus ecosystem.

To support a strong joint launch, we propose allocating a $100,000 marketing budget from the Venus Treasury to amplify visibility, onboard new users, and drive ecosystem engagement.

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Why Arculus?

Trusted Brand with Institutional Backing

Arculus is built by CompoSecure, a publicly traded company (NASDAQ: CMPO) with a ~$1.39B market cap. It has deep roots in the payments and digital asset custody space, with partnerships across TradFi and Web3.

Rapidly Growing User Base

While specific user numbers are confidential, Arculus has onboarded hundreds of thousands of users globally, particularly in the high-security, hardware-wallet segment of the crypto market.

Security-First UX

Arculus uniquely combines a hardware-secured cold storage solution with a modern mobile user interface, making it ideal for users who demand institutional-grade security when interacting with DeFi.

Wallet-as-a-Platform

Arculus is actively integrating DeFi and blockchain applications directly into its native app. This allows users to access Venus on all supported chains without leaving the wallet, enabling seamless and secure DeFi interactions.

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Why is this important for Venus

Growth Potential

• A 1% conversion of Arculus users could bring thousands of high-value users to Venus.
• Hardware wallet users tend to hold larger portfolios, which means higher TVL, larger loans, and more protocol utility.
• This expands Venus beyond Web3 browser-based tools into trusted, institutional-grade self-custody environments.

TVL and Borrowing Volume Impact

• A successful integration could realistically drive $500M–$800M+ in new TVL over the next 6–12 months.
• It could also generate $1.6M–$2.5M in annualized revenue for Venus, depending on user engagement and asset utilization, with $800K–$1.3M possible in the first 6 months. These estimates exclude potential upside from liquidation fees and future Venus V5 revenue streams.
• This integration comes at a pivotal moment for Venus, aligning perfectly with the upcoming Venus V5 upgrade, which is set to be a major milestone.

Institutional and Mainstream Alignment

• As DeFi matures, hardware wallets are becoming essential for onboarding conservative retail users, family offices, and institutions.
• By integrating with Arculus, Venus can cement its position as a secure, scalable, and institutional-ready DeFi protocol.

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Marketing Support Budget

To capitalize on the integration, we propose a $100,000 budget (in stablecoins) from the Venus Treasury to fund:

• Co-branded marketing campaigns (Giveaways, videos, blogs, press)
• Educational content and tutorials within the Arculus app
• Incentivized onboarding programs for new users
• Community webinars, AMAs, and product walkthroughs

This budget will be jointly managed by the Venus Vanguard and Arculus teams to ensure efficient allocation and measurable results.

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Conclusion

This proposal is more than a marketing initiative — it’s a strategic integration that positions Venus Protocol at the forefront of secure, next-generation DeFi access and enables users to seamlessly interact with their digital assets while ensuring trust and security at the point of every transaction.**

By joining forces with Arculus, Venus has the opportunity to:

• Reach new, high-trust user demographics
• Add significant new TVL and borrowing activity
• Strengthen its brand in both institutional and consumer markets
• Lead the charge in hardware-secured DeFi adoption

We recommend the Venus community vote in favor of this proposal and the accompanying marketing budget to ensure a successful joint launch.

Let’s bring Venus to hardware wallets and institutions around the world and unlock the next era of secure, scalable, and user-first DeFi.