Lending on Terminus

As a lender on Terminus, you set the terms. You decide the interest rate, the duration, and the collateral requirements. When a borrower matches your offer, you earn exactly the yield you specified — no more, no less.

Why Lend on Terminus?

• Predictable returns — your interest rate is fixed at offer creation. Pool rate fluctuations don't affect you.
• You set the terms — choose your rate, duration, and what collateral you're comfortable with.
• Over-collateralized — every loan is backed by crypto assets worth more than your principal.
• Default protection — if a borrower doesn't repay, you receive their collateral, which exceeds your loan value.

Creating an Offer

1. Navigate to the Lend page and click Create Offer
2. Enter the amount you want to lend (must be within per-token min/max limits for the chosen token)
3. Set your desired interest rate
4. Choose the loan duration (within protocol min/max limits)
5. Select which collateral types you accept (only whitelisted tokens can be used)
6. Set the collateral ratio within protocol bounds (e.g., 150% means the borrower must lock 1.5x the loan value)
7. Pay the creation deposit — a small anti-spam deposit refunded when your offer is matched
8. Optionally add a whitelist — restrict matching to specific borrower addresses only
9. Optionally lock your principal in escrow — guarantees your funds are available when a borrower matches
10. Optionally set an expiry date — the offer is removed after this date if unmatched
11. Confirm the transaction in your wallet

Creation Deposit

When creating an offer, you pay a small creation deposit set by the protocol. This discourages spam and low-quality offers. The deposit is refunded when your offer is matched. If you cancel, the deposit may be forfeited depending on protocol rules.

Per-Offer Whitelist

You can restrict who can match your offer by setting a whitelist of borrower addresses. Only whitelisted addresses can take your loan terms — useful when lending to known counterparties or affiliates. Offers with a whitelist are marked in the offer book.

Escrow Lock

Locking your principal in escrow guarantees availability. Locked offers display a "Locked" badge and are preferred by borrowers because the funds are guaranteed. Unlocked offers may fail if you move your funds before a borrower matches.

What Happens After

Your offer is posted to the offer book. When a borrower matches, you'll see the loan appear in your Positions page. You receive an ERC-721 loan position NFT — you own it and can transfer or trade it like any NFT. At maturity, you receive your principal plus the agreed interest.

Lending Vaults

Instead of lending directly, you can participate in ERC-4626 lending vaults. Deposit into a vault targeting a specific offer; the vault pools capital and matches the offer collectively. You receive vault shares (ERC-20) proportional to your deposit. When the loan settles or defaults, your share of the outcome is reflected in the vault.

Cancelling an Offer

You can cancel any unmatched offer. If you locked funds, a small cancellation fee may apply. If the lock has expired, you can reclaim your funds with no fee. Once matched, the loan cannot be cancelled.

Understanding Risk

The primary risk for lenders is collateral value depreciation. If the borrower defaults and the collateral has dropped significantly in value, the collateral you receive may be worth less than your original principal. Setting higher collateral ratios mitigates this risk.