Discover how USDY, a yield-bearing stablecoin from Ondo Finance, offers secure, regulated returns backed by US Treasuries across multiple blockchains.

, which are crypto assets pegged to a major fiat asset, have gained tremendous popularity and are helping investors deal with the typical volatility of the market. For many years, stablecoin cryptocurrencies have been used for payments, principal value storage, B2B transactions and more. However, traditional stablecoins have always lacked the ability to generate yield. These assets are fixed at a certain rate (e.g., $1) and, due to inflation, they don’t protect against your funds’ value erosion. 

 have started to gain traction over the past several years. These "new generation" stablecoins, unlike their traditional counterparts, not only provide rate stability but also generate yields, growing your investment over time. One of the leading assets among yield-bearing stablecoins is US Dollar Yield (USDY), issued by Ondo USDY LLC, part of 

Backed by low-risk traditional finance (TradFi) reserves, USDY generates yields and is a fully composable asset that can be used throughout the DeFi ecosystems of multiple blockchains. The reserves and issuance of the stablecoin are also subject to high regulatory controls. In the world of yield-bearing stablecoins, USDY is among the top choices in terms of popularity, regulation and security.

What is the Ondo US Dollar Yield (USDY) Token?

 (USDY) is a yield-bearing stablecoin offered by Ondo USDY LLC, part of the Ondo Finance DeFi solutions provider. 

USDY’s value tracks that of the US dollar, and it’s backed by Treasury bills and demand deposit reserves. The coin issuer’s parent company, Ondo Finance, specializes in institutional-grade crypto solutions. Ondo aims to make on-chain institutional-grade finance tools and infrastructure accessible to anyone.

USDY was launched in August 2023. As of April 2025, the stablecoin has become available on 

 — a level of multichain coverage that few other stablecoins can match.

While USDY’s price tracks the US dollar’s, its rate is typically somewhat higher than $1 because yields earned by each unit of the stablecoin are added to it, increasing its nominal value.

 (RWAs), primarily Treasury bills, although some portion of the reserves may also be represented by bank demand deposits. Both of these financial asset types are considered cash equivalents.

To ensure the Ondo ecosystem's security, Ondo backs each $100 equivalent of USDY with reserves worth $104, maintaining a 4% overcollateralization rate at all times.

Ondo Finance takes the transparency of USDY seriously. The company has established a bankruptcy-remote mechanism, with a separate corporate entity controlling the issuance and oversight of the stablecoin in various ways, including a board of directors with an independent director, and segregation of assets and reporting from Ondo.

USDY is a fully composable asset that can be used in the DeFi ecosystems of its host blockchains for various purposes, such as collateral, 

USDY provides several significant benefits for its holders. First, it allows eligible individual and institutional investors to earn dollar-denominated yield. This is in contrast to traditional stablecoins, which provide no yield opportunities at all. While other yield-bearing stablecoins also generate returns for holders, some of these pay the yields in volatile cryptocurrencies, rather than high-quality assets.

Thanks to its dollar peg, USDY offers both yield and relative stability. Additionally, it’s fully composable, creating opportunities for use across various DeFi protocols. USDY is available on seven blockchains, providing access to more DeFi opportunities than most yield-bearing stablecoins.

The coin may also be used for passive holding, growing in value over time as yields accrue. In this capacity, USDY represents a good low-risk, on-chain investment opportunity.

Finally, USDY’s overcollateralization and backing by high-quality TradFi assets, Treasury bills and demand deposits make it one of the most secure yield-bearing stablecoins on the market.

How does Ondo US Dollar Yield (USDY) work?

Individuals and institutional entities need to undergo an onboarding process to acquire USDY, during which they submit relevant identity, legal and tax documents. Ondo diligently applies 

 (AML) checks in order to adhere to US securities laws, the Investment Company Act of 1940 and other relevant regulations.

US and UK residents cannot apply to buy USDY, although you may be eligible if you’re a US or UK citizen and reside abroad.

If your application is approved, you can be issued USDY 40 to 50 days after your initial deposit date, although you’ll start earning yield from the first day of your investment. The minimum amount for investment or redemption is $500. You can buy USDY from Ondo using the 

 stablecoin. US dollar wire transfers are also supported for amounts over $100,000.

Redemptions are only transferred in US dollars to bank accounts outside the US. You can redeem your USDY investment at any time, and the typical timeline to receive your funds is about 2–3 business days from the date of your request.

USDY accrues yield daily. The stablecoin’s yields are structured not to incur any US federal tax obligations. Ondo doesn’t charge any performance or management fees for USDY yields. However, the company earns income from a portion of yields generated by the underlying assets backing USDY.

As noted earlier, USDY’s yields accrue to each unit of the token. Therefore, the value of one USDY is usually above $1. For instance, the average value of USDY as of the time of this writing (Apr 30, 2025) is $1.11.

For investors who prefer a fixed $1 rate for the stablecoin, Ondo offers the rebasing version, called rUSDY. Yields for rUSDY are paid to your wallet in the form of additional tokens by increasing the supply of the crypto, while the principal remains at (or very close to) $1. This is known as rebasing. USDY and rUSDY are freely convertible between each other.

The rebased version of the coin might be useful to those who need to ensure rate stability (for example, for B2B payments of agreed-upon contractual amounts) while also earning yields from their investments.

 as a swap pair with the USDT stablecoin.

USDY boasts numerous benefits for investors — low-risk yields from high-quality traditional assets, wide multichain coverage, regulatory compliance, transparency, composability and rate stability. The combination of all these benefits is quite rare in the crypto market, and the investor community is definitely taking note: USDY is already the third-highest-ranked yield-bearing stablecoin by market cap as of late April 2025. 

Since the yield-bearing stablecoin niche is expanding, the advantages of the USDY are likely to attract further interest, both among the institutional crowd and with individuals keen to access high-quality, institutional-grade crypto products.

Intermediate

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What is Ondo US Dollar Yield (USDY) and how does it work?

Discover the 7 top Sui meme coins in 2025, from MIU to HIPPO, as they gain traction with fast growth, strong communities, and unique use cases.

 blockchains, have continued to rally as investors make bold moves with renewed risk appetites. As a 

 blockchain, Sui has continued to attract crypto enthusiasts — especially meme coin lovers, who appreciate the platform's speed and affordability.

Recent surges in trading volumes and market caps of SUI meme coins — such as MIU, LOFI and BLUB — highlight growing investor interest. For instance, BLUB experienced an 88% increase in just 24 hours from Apr 22–23, 2025, contributing to the broader rally of SUI as its price surged over 63% in April 2025.

These coins often incorporate unique themes and philanthropic efforts, such as HIPPO's wildlife conservation donations, that foster strong community support.

Let's look at the top Sui meme coins making waves in the crypto market.

​Sui-based meme coins are rapidly gaining traction due to a combination of technological advantages and vibrant community engagement. The 

 parallel transaction execution and unique gas pricing mechanism enable ultrafast transaction speeds and minimal fees. This makes Sui an ideal platform for the high-volume, speculative trading that meme coins often entail. Sui’s scalability and secure Move programming language attract developers seeking efficient and safe environments for launching their new tokens.​

 (DeFi) further supports meme coin growth, providing avenues for increased utility beyond mere speculation. Following are the top ​Sui meme coins based on market cap, as of Apr 30, 2025.

 is currently the leading ​Sui-based “cat meme coin,” with a market cap of $70.6 million. It draws in investors with its fun, energetic branding and community-driven spirit. MIU also features expanded utility beyond its cute cat hype, allowing users to access DeFi and 

 (NFT) opportunities on its platform. It also promotes long-term commitment via its 

 process, as stakers can earn up to 15% APR with 12 months of staking.

The project frequently launches community events and contests, strengthening its dedicated holder base. MIU’s success highlights the growing appetite for meme tokens on scalable blockchains like Sui. Its playful appeal and strong tokenomics have positioned it at the top of the ​Sui meme sector. MIU is a 

 coin: its total supply is 9 trillion tokens, of which 55% are dedicated to a 

, 15% allocated to staking rewards, 15% to ecosystem development, 10% to community and 5% reserved for the team.

MIU continues to ride the wave of growing meme adoption, aiming to become a lasting force within the Sui ecosystem and beyond.

With a market cap of $35.86 million and over 50 million app users, 

 (MEMEFI) is an ambitious Telegram project that blends the world of memes with SocialFi utilities. Unlike typical meme coins that rely solely on hype, MemeFi aims to engage Telegram users with an interactive web3 meme-themed clicker game that offers daily giveaways and incentivizes ad creations for enterprises.

Its native token, MEMEFI, is more than just a mere meme coin, and has use cases for 

You can trade MEMEFI on Bybit’s Spot trading platform (

 is a rising ​Sui meme coin known for its chill "lofi vibes" branding that resonates with a younger, internet-native audience. Beyond its fun appearance, LOFI has demonstrated solid growth by tapping into communities through music, lifestyle and crypto.

The project also ties in eco-conscious initiatives, focusing on providing clean water sources for global communities and addressing the impact of ocean waste and plastic on marine health, giving it a mission-driven angle not typically seen in meme coins. Besides direct donating, minting LOFI Mystic Yetis NFTs also helps contribute to the cause, with 20% of the proceeds going to the LOFI Foundation.

Lofi’s accessible vibe and shrewd marketing strategy continue to attract new supporters, helping LOFI to stand out in the increasingly crowded ​Sui meme scene. 

 (commonly known as HIPPO) is a community favorite in the ​Sui meme world. The HIPPO token mixes humor with philanthropy, donating a portion of its revenues to wildlife conservation initiatives, starting with Thailand’s Khao Kheow Open Zoo that houses Moo Deng, the adorable pygmy hippopotamus that inspired this viral meme coin. This feel-good approach has helped build an extremely loyal community around the HIPPO token.

Sudeng’s dual focus on memes and real-world impact gives it staying power. The project’s growing community engagement ensures that HIPPO remains relevant in a fast-moving crypto space.

You can buy HIPPO as a USDT Perpetual contract on Bybit (

 is making waves in the ​Sui meme coin ecosystem with its aquatic-themed branding and integration of meme culture. Known for its friendly, community-first approach, BLUB frequently hosts giveaways, meme competitions and liquidity incentives to maximize engagement.

The coin’s fun branding and its steady increase in active users have helped BLUB climb the ranks quickly. Its strong online presence and viral meme campaigns have attracted crypto enthusiasts who are looking for the next breakout meme project. As it continues building partnerships and expanding its reach, BLUB demonstrates strong potential to become a staple in the Sui meme scene.

 (TOILET) is a rising meme coin on ​Sui that embraces humor and absurdity in a way that resonates with crypto culture. Its branding focuses on being intentionally ridiculous, tapping into the viral tone of meme coins that don't take themselves too seriously.

The project’s organic, community-driven growth has made it one of the most talked-about newer entrants in the ​Sui meme space. Frequent meme contests, community raids and spontaneous airdrops help fuel engagement. One of its biggest events is the distribution of Toilet Club Alpha Pass NFTs to the top 100 TOILET holders (as indicated by the Apr 21, 2025 screenshot), which gives holders access to all of Toilet Dust's projects and events and the right to vote on Toilet Dust's future development.

Despite its humorous façade, TOILET’s strong holder base and active marketing tactics suggest it may remain relevant as Sui’s meme coin ecosystem continues to expand.

 (FUD), another top project in the ​Sui meme coin category, is built around an adorable pug mascot battling FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) in the crypto world. With a humorous tone and clever marketing, FUD has built a vibrant community of holders who embrace both its memes and its mission.

FUD leverages trending memes, contests and airdrop rewards to keep its community marketing fresh and viral, helping it steadily grow in popularity. Its deep integration of ​Sui apps like 

 — as well as its deflationary tokenomics, whereby 20% is dedicated to token burning — makes FUD a strong contender for future growth in the meme space.

Buying ​Sui meme coins on Bybit can be exciting. Nevertheless, it's important to recognize the risks and rewards involved. 

, and their prices can swing wildly and quickly, offering chances for sizeable gains as well as sudden losses.

Always approach these investments with caution, never risking more than you can afford to lose. That said, the fast-growing ​Sui ecosystem and meme culture can create rewarding opportunities for traders who stay informed and manage their risk properly.

Currently, you can buy MEMEFI as a Spot pair and Perpetual contract on Bybit. HIPPO is also available as a Perpetual contract. This gives traders the flexibility to choose the type of exposure they want — simple buying and holding with Spot, or leveraged trading with Perpetual contracts.

Spot trading is the most straightforward way to buy ​Sui meme coins, as you directly purchase the coin and own it outright. On Bybit, the process is simple. After choosing the Spot pair, such as MEMEFI/USDT, select your preferred order type — e.g., 

(you set the price you're willing to pay) — and confirm the trade to make your purchase.

Spot trading is ideal for beginning traders, as well as anyone who prefers a more straightforward, lower-risk approach as compared to 

Buying Sui meme coins as Perpetual contracts

Bybit offers MEMEFI and HIPPO as USDT Perpetual contracts for those seeking more advanced trading options. With Perpetual trading, you don’t own the actual coins; instead, you speculate on their price movement. Key points to understand include the following:

Perpetual contracts can offer significant rewards, but require a strong understanding of 

. Always start with lower leverage and practice solid trading discipline.

Whether you prefer the simplicity of Spot or the strategy of Perps, Bybit provides flexible ways to explore the booming ​Sui meme coin market.

The rapid rise of meme coins on the Sui blockchain highlights the power of community-driven projects when they’re paired with innovative technology. Thanks to Sui’s high-speed transactions, low fees and developer-friendly environment, Sui meme coins like MIU, LOFI and HIPPO have found a perfect ecosystem in which to thrive. Each project brings something unique to the table — whether humor, philanthropy, DeFi innovation or pure meme culture — creating a vibrant and diverse ​Sui meme coin landscape.

Beginner

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7 top Sui meme coins to pay attention to in 2025

Mastercard has partnered with Circle, Paxos, and Nuvei to allow 150 million merchants to accept stablecoin payments. 

Daily top performer — Drift Protocol (DRIFT)

The S&P 500 rose 0.58% for a sixth straight gain as markets await key inflation and GDP data, alongside earnings from Meta and Microsoft. Gold fell 0.60% to $3,323 as a stronger USD and improved risk appetite limited safe-haven demand. Prices remained range-bound, with key levels at $3,260 support and $3,400 resistance. The Coindesk Indices, which tracks the broader crypto market, rose 0.51%, with Bitcoin and Ether up 0.55% and 1.31%, respectively in the past 24 hours. Trade these markets and more with up to 500x leverage on Bybit MT5 using this 

Today's top performer is DRIFT, which surged 28.7% following the introduction of Amplify, Drift's tool for simplified leverage that boosts yields with increased risk.

Drift Protocol (DRIFT), founded in 2021, is a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Solana offering spot trading, perpetuals, and market-making tools. Drift v2 builds on this by improving trading efficiency, security, and user-centric features, incorporating community feedback to enhance the platform. 

 by Drift automates leveraging strategies for higher yields by recursively borrowing against yield-generating assets. It simplifies the process, making leverage accessible with one click. However, risks such as liquidation, changing interest rates, and oracle failures exist. Amplify is designed for users with JLP or SOL LSTs seeking to boost yields with minimal complexity but comes with increased risk.

Check out the latest prices, charts, and data of 

 with Circle, Paxos, and Nuvei to allow 150 million merchants to accept stablecoin payments. The company aims to make it easier for both merchants and consumers to use stablecoins, promoting blockchain technology's mainstream adoption. Additionally, Mastercard has launched a crypto payments card with MetaMask, enabling self-custodied fund transactions with fast processing speeds. Stablecoin market growth is expected to reach $3.7 trillion by 2030.

Yesterday, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw $43.9 million in net outflows, all from non-GBTC funds, while GBTC recorded zero flows.

, a Layer-1 blockchain focused on AI agents and user-owned IP, is offering a limited-time free ticket to its Summit Series for the next 18 hours. Users can also join the Camp Points Program by completing simple tasks to earn points, which may qualify them for a future $CAMP token airdrop. A minimum of 30 points is required to be eligible. Daily check-ins earn bonus points. VPN use may be needed for access.

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Mastercard partners with Circle, Paxos, and Nuvei to enable stablecoin payments for 150 million merchants

Gold's meteoric rise in 2025 is closely tied to broader macroeconomic factors, particularly the performance of the US dollar and global stock markets. 

Gold's meteoric rise in 2025 is closely tied to broader macroeconomic factors, particularly the performance of the US dollar and global stock markets. A weakening dollar, combined with disappointing equity returns, has created a fertile environment for gold to thrive. With gold priced in dollars, any depreciation in the US currency enhances gold's relative value, attracting both domestic and international investors.

Year-to-date, gold has gained 26%, while the S&P 500 has declined by 11%. This inverse relationship underscores gold's role as a traditional 

 during periods of economic uncertainty and market volatility.

Adding to the bullish momentum, inflationary pressures are remaining persistent, further eroding the purchasing power of fiat currencies and boosting gold's appeal as a hedge against currency devaluation.

Geopolitical uncertainty and tariff risks

Trade policies under U.S. president Trump have reignited fears of global tariff wars. The uncertainty surrounding tariffs has prompted investors to seek refuge in gold, considered the "global currency" during times of economic disruption. Concerns about tariffs on key commodities, including gold itself, have added another layer of complexity to market dynamics.

Potential tariffs on gold could mirror the recent surge in copper prices, as supply constraints and increased demand drive costs higher. Exporters and importers, wary of volatile exchange rates, are increasingly opting to hold gold instead of more vulnerable currencies like the Canadian dollar (CAD), Japanese yen (JPY), euro (EUR), Chinese yuan (CNY) and Mexican peso (MXN).

By serving as a neutral reserve asset, gold provides much-needed stability amid shifting trade patterns and geopolitical tensions. As global commerce adapts to new tariff structures, the demand for gold as a "store of value" is likely to intensify.

Interestingly, the ongoing trade war dynamics suggest that for the first time in decades, gold may be emerging as the 

. As U.S. imports become more expensive due to tariffs, exporting countries earn less revenue and, consequently, reduce their investments in US Treasuries. This dynamic has led to selling pressure on Treasuries, weakening their traditional role as a safe-haven asset — and with Treasuries losing their appeal, investors are increasingly parking their capital in gold, reinforcing its unique position during this period of heightened trade tensions.

From a technical standpoint, gold's rally appears robust. The 

 (MACD) indicator remains positive, signaling that bullish momentum is intact. Notably, the 12-day moving average is above the 26-day moving average, confirming that short-term price action is outpacing longer-term trends.

 (RSI) stands at 60, indicating that while gold is nearing overbought territory, momentum hasn’t yet faded. This technical setup suggests that gold could continue its upward trajectory in the near term, especially if macroeconomic and geopolitical factors remain supportive.

The next upside technical target is pegged at $3,500, with analysts projecting a potential move toward $4,000 by year end if current momentum holds.

China's role in supporting gold prices cannot be overstated. Amid a deepening economic slowdown and strict capital controls, Chinese investors are increasingly turning to gold to preserve their wealth. With over 1.4 billion citizens seeking alternatives to a weakening yuan, demand for gold within China has surged.

This trend is reflective of a broader shift in emerging markets, whereby gold is viewed not just as an investment but as a critical safeguard against economic instability and currency depreciation. Intensifying Chinese demand provides an additional tailwind to global gold prices.

While gold commands the spotlight, silver presents an intriguing complementary opportunity. Historically correlated with gold, silver remains significantly below its ATH of $50, which was set in 2011. Given the momentum in precious metals, silver's relative undervaluation offers considerable upside potential for investors seeking diversification.

With industrial demand also supporting silver prices, silver could benefit from both safe-haven inflows and economic recovery scenarios, making it a compelling addition to a diversified precious metals portfolio.

In conclusion, gold's impressive surge to record highs is being driven by a combination of macroeconomic headwinds, geopolitical uncertainty and strong technical indicators. Trade policy risks, the weakening dollar and growing demand from China reinforce gold's role as a premier safe-haven asset.

Because technical momentum remains positive and investor sentiment strong, gold appears well positioned to continue its ascent toward the $3,500 mark by year end. Investors seeking to hedge against economic instability and currency volatility will likely find gold — and potentially silver — to be attractive additions to their portfolios in 2025.

Advanced

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Bybit X FXStreet Report: Gold could reach US$4,000 per ounce by 2025

Bybit Learn

DeFi

Solend is a decentralized lending protocol running on the Solana network. Find out everything about it including its near crash in this detailed article.

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 has been garnering the market’s attention. An algorithmic, decentralized protocol for lending and borrowing built on Solana, Solend opened gateways for Solana users to increase the methods they can employ to profit from the market. With prominent investors such as 

 and many others, Solend gained remarkable traction, achieving 

 just over a month after launch, achieved even prior to liquidity mining opportunities. 

In late June 2022, Solend once again grabbed the front page of several financial news sites. However, this time the reasons weren’t as favorable. Concerns regarding the liquidation of a whale account on Solend left Solana users panic-stricken about a potential major crash, sparking intense discussions. 

In this article, we’ll explore what Solend is, how a major crash almost occurred, and the impact it’s suffered from FTX’s downfall.

, using an algorithmic method to determine interest rates and collateral amounts. 

 in August of 2021. At that time, Solana’s popularity was increasing due to its speedy transactions and low fees. The addition of a lending protocol to the Solana ecosystem attracted a lot of market interest. Users can now earn higher returns than before.

Solend starts with a fairly basic premise: Users can deposit assets to their Solend accounts to earn interest. They can also use these deposits as collateral to take out loans. The platform’s main goal is to decentralize lending. 

Borrowers don’t need to take out a formal long-term loan, or justify their need for it. Instead, the platform enables them to take short-term loans with simpler deposits and no lengthy underwriting process. 

 automatically assign lending limits and collect interest.

In order to use Solend, users need to have a Solana 

. The SOL crypto asset is the backbone of this Solana-based lending protocol. Users can move to different denominations if they want, but SOL is the native currency for the platform. Solend has various "pools" of available crypto assets that operate with different currencies. For example, the 

 lets users work with all 20 of the crypto assets the platform currently supports.

Once users have their Solana wallet connected to the lending platform and they’ve added SOL to their account, they can begin borrowing or lending various types of crypto. The 

 option lets users look at how much interest they can earn, while the 

 option tells users how much they can borrow with their current crypto stake.

Each loan that users take has a liquidation threshold. If crypto values alter in a way that causes the loan to cross the liquidation threshold, users’ assets can be liquidated. The funds then go to the lenders as collateral for the loan.

There are many other similar DeFi lending platforms, such as 

, but Solend’s Solana-based lending protocol has some special features that set it apart.

Many users find Solend helpful for investing because it has low transaction fees. You can quickly borrow and sell crypto without getting hit with excessive transaction fees. Most of the platform's fees are just protocol fees you pay with each loan. These fees contribute to an insurance fund for the platform. 

, though it can vary slightly depending on which vault you use. There are also fees you pay for any Solana network transactions. The first time you interact with the network, you pay a 0.01 SOL fee. Then, for every subsequent transaction, you pay a low fee of around 0.000005 SOL. These fees are much cheaper than transaction fees on most other sites.

Unlike many other lending platforms, Solend prioritizes scalability. It doesn't require users to stick with one type of crypto, or conduct only low-level transactions. Users can leverage a wide range of crypto assets, with more being added to the platform regularly. You can choose from a variety of cryptocurrencies, such as native coins, stablecoins and meme coins, so there’s certainly a lot of versatility.

Despite Solend’s many features, its network isn't confusing to use. One of its most impressive aspects is its streamlined dashboard. Well-organized and visually pleasing, it’s intuitive to use. Most people can get started without requiring extensive tutorials, or confusing statistics that can cause investors to make errors.

A lot of Solend's success may be linked to its 

, which the network launched so that current users can encourage others to sign up through a referral link. The original user receives a small financial bonus when a new user participates. Right now, the financial incentive is set to 20% of each loan's origination fee.

Though the platform has some great perks, using it also comes with some potential problems. Before investing in any Solend strategies, there are a few risks you need to be aware of.

Solend’s liquidations are powered by the price feeds of 

 may report incorrect prices, causing wrongful liquidations to occur.

Given that Solend is an algorithmic, decentralized protocol, the crux of its operating system lies in smart contracts that facilitate the borrowing and lending of crypto assets. However, like any other type of software, these contracts can be a point of vulnerability. They could, for instance, potentially be exploited to steal or permanently freeze funds. 

Note that such risk is inherent to all smart contracts. Despite the fact that this risk cannot be fully eliminated, there are some methods and steps taken to mitigate it:

Solend’s smart contract has undergone a code audit by 

, which pays up to $1 million if a user identifies a critical vulnerability in the code. This incentivizes responsible disclosure instead of hacking.

Solend’s treasury of $20 million can be used as insurance for the Main Pool, should any exploits or hacks cause any of the protocol’s funds to be lost.

Solend's lending protocol only works when users are depositing crypto assets for others to borrow. If there are no crypto assets left in the pool — which would be the case should 100% of the crypto asset be lent out — any future withdrawal or borrowing becomes impossible. This is called 100% utilization, and it can occasionally be an issue.

This problem is resolved as long as users pay back their loans, or more users supply crypto assets to the pool. 

Solend offers over-collateralized loans, meaning that each loan the platform offers must be backed by collateral that’s worth more than the loan itself. However, collateral value is constantly shifting. 

 may determine that your loan is below the threshold. At this point, you can either add more collateral or let your existing collateral be liquidated. However, liquidating your position incurs a penalty. If you aren't paying close attention to your loans and investments, there's a chance you could end up accidentally losing your loan — and having to pay the liquidation costs.

People who lend on Solend’s platform may potentially run into situations where their loans cannot be covered. This can happen during large-scale liquidations or periods of market turmoil. When a lot of assets are liquidated at once, their worth may not be enough to cover the user’s loans, resulting in a negative balance known as bad debt that can harm the lender. 

 to isolate newer or riskier crypto assets. These pools are used to screen crypto assets that have less liquidity and higher volatility, which creates an exploitable opportunity and is deemed a risk for the main pool. In addition, deposit limits and collateralization ratios are also managed for this group of crypto assets.

Any bad debt created is filled via the insurance fund. However, this insurance fund is topped up by transaction fees, a source which isn’t limitless and can potentially run out.

In 2022 alone, Solend has faced multiple tough situations, partly due to the volatile market conditions and the fallout from big institutions failing, which has caused various crypto assets to suffer in price. Here are the three main issues that Solend has had to deal with.

On November 2, 2022, Solend was struck by an oracle exploit, resulting in $1.26 million in bad debt.

Three of its pools — Stable, Coin98 and Kamino USDH — were affected, since the exploit revolved around the 

 (USDH). As a result, these three pools have been disabled, and the exploiter’s address has been made known to exchanges.

FTX’s Downfall and Its Impact on Solend

CEX, has thrown the market into turmoil. Given that the Solana ecosystem had close ties with Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), the founder of FTX, the 

 (TVL) of the DeFi ecosystem has taken a beating, partly attributed to the free-falling price of SOL.

There’s also been an impact on Solend, which had a TVL of over $280 million on November 2 and has since dropped all the way down to $28 million at the time of this writing (Nov. 23, 2022). This is a result of users withdrawing from the protocol, as well as the 

In addition, Solend was faced with an issue pertaining to the liquidation of a whale account. An unidentified whale who had borrowed $44 million against $51 million worth of SOL had to be liquidated, due to the drop in value of SOL collateral. However, on-chain SOL liquidity had taken a huge beating when the price plummeted 43% in 48 hours, and Solend had difficulties liquidating the whale’s account.

In an attempt to attract depositors and incentivize borrowers to repay their loans, thereby improving liquidity, the team at Solend tried to resolve this situation by raising the interest rate on SOL to more than 2,500%. In addition, they also created a Binance account to process the SOL liquidations, since the SOL liquidity was deeper on Binance as compared to the Solana chain itself.

Despite the commendable efforts from the Solend team, which expedited the liquidation of the whale account, Solend now sits with a bad debt of $6.5 million. As Soju, Head of Business Development at Solend, wrote in Solend’s Discord channel, “It’s looking very bad now” as the situation had yet to be fully resolved.

Prior to FTX’s downfall, Solend had encountered difficulties with regard to another whale liquidation in late June 2022. This particular incident took the DeFi space by storm, was intensely discussed by the Crypto Twitter community and appeared in news stories.

One of Solend's key vulnerabilities is that users join together to create a lending pool. This can lead to problems when a single borrower, called a 

, has an outsized presence within the Solana-based lending protocol. The June crash involved a 

 borrower who had an outstanding loan of $108 million worth of USDC and USDT. The borrower's stablecoin loan was backed by $170 million worth of SOL in their Solana wallet.

The whale's loan was the largest single-user loan on Solend, taking up a huge portion of the lending pool. This was fine — as long as SOL prices were high. However, when SOL prices started tanking around June 15, this huge loan became a problem. SOL prices were dropping to $27, so the whale's loan was quickly approaching its liquidating threshold.

Solend’s Developers Try Notifying the Whale

When Solend's developers noticed this issue, their first plan was to notify the lender of the impending liquidation. At this point, another one of the platform's vulnerabilities became apparent: Solend is entirely anonymous, so there’s no way to contact a user — outside of sending a message to their account. Unfortunately for the developers, the whale wasn't checking the messages sent to their own account.

If SOL's price were to reach $22.30 without the whale taking any action, their collateral would have to be liquidated, resulting in over $21 million of SOL being dumped at one time. Users feared a serious amount of fallout for the market. Though SOL is a fairly robust blockchain, with a market cap of around $11 billion, such a huge sale would have caused its value to tank even further.

It was a race against time, with the group desperately trying to notify the lender before the liquidation was set in motion. After private methods of contact failed, they turned to the internet. The developers posted on Reddit and Twitter, begging the borrower to contact them. They even sent an on-chain transaction with a memo, asking the whale to talk to them about the issue. Of course, making the issue public caused further problems. Users were spooked and started to pull their funds, resulting in fewer tokens in the pool and more funds being frozen.

Eventually, Solend was able to use an intermediary to contact the whale and get them to add more collateral to their account. However, before this took place, the platform had been seeking other solutions. They ended up enacting their first 

 (DAO) vote. This essentially required users to join together and vote on proposed solutions to the problem as described below.

Proposal 1: SLND1 — Mitigate Risk From Whales

Solend's first proposed measure was an "emergency powers" package. Named 

, it would have given Solend’s developers more control over users' accounts, allowing the platform to identify whales who represent more than 20% of the borrowing in any given pool. Solend would then have emergency power to take over these accounts in the event of any liquidation. The platform would be able to liquidate the account more slowly, so that lenders would get paid but SOL shares wouldn’t get dumped 

. At the time, this proposal was met with a lot of favor. Solend got just enough voting participation to meet their 1% quorum requirement, and the emergency ballot passed by 97.5%. 

However, users quickly found out that some unsavory dealings had been going on behind the scenes: Struggling to achieve enough user participation to reach a quorum, the platform found a user who owned over 1% of all the turnout tokens. This user’s outsized number of votes swayed the results of the election, while many members of the Solend community had been outspoken about how much they disliked the measure. They felt that it gave the platform too much control over individual users’ accounts, contesting the ethos of decentralization.

Proposal 2: SLND2 — Invalidate SLND1 & Increase Voting Time

Since there was so much public outcry over SLND1, the developers proposed a new measure, 

, which would essentially reverse everything that had been agreed to with SLND1. The new measure proposed both to cancel the idea of giving the Solend team more power over user accounts, and to increase the overall voting time.

This ballot ran into a similar problem as the first proposal. Once again, users were divided, and it mostly came down to the input of the same user, with their outsized voting power. This user initially said they would vote "No" on SLND2, because they didn't want to cave to public pressure. However, at the last minute, they decided to vote "Yes” and the proposal passed. The platform was no longer allowed to access user accounts in an emergency, while users were given more time on future votes.

Proposal 3: SLND3 — Introduce Account Borrowing Limit

After the first two controversial votes, Solend users were becoming fairly anxious. Fortunately, the platform was able to finally get in contact with the whale and work to resolve the ongoing situation. While this was happening, the team also began to work on a new proposal that would hopefully reduce the risks of another such occurrence.

’s ballot measure proposed to reduce borrowing limits for all users. The proposal suggested that, in the future, there should be a borrower ceiling of $50 million. This would hopefully prevent one borrower from being able to take up so many funds from a lending pool. The ballot passed on June 21, and the proposed limit went into effect. Though there was once again the issue of a single user deciding the vote, there was less public outcry because most people believed the new measure was a wise decision.

It's hard to clearly define Solend's effect on SOL, since the two are so closely related. SOL was definitely on the downturn before the lending protocol disaster. In fact, the Solana network crash was the main reason that all of the whale's SOL collateral was almost liquidated in the first place. 

What Is Solend and How Did a Near Crash Almost Cripple It?

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