Security & Trust
Terminus is built on the principle that users should never have to trust a team, a company, or a server. The protocol is enforced entirely by smart contracts on Starknet, and all state is verifiable on-chain.
Non-Custodial
Terminus never holds your funds. Escrowed funds and collateral are held by smart contracts on Starknet — not by any company or individual. You can always verify and access your funds on-chain, even if this website goes offline.
Over-Collateralization
Every loan on Terminus is over-collateralized. This means the borrower must lock crypto assets worth more than the loan principal. Typical ratios range from 130% to 200%. The protocol enforces collateral ratio limits (min/max) set by governance — offers outside these bounds cannot be created. This buffer protects lenders against moderate price declines in the collateral asset.
Anti-Spam & Creation Deposits
Creating offers requires a small creation deposit. This discourages spam and low-quality offers that clutter the book. The deposit is refunded when the offer is matched. Deposit size is capped by governance and enforced on-chain.
Governance Safeguards
Key protocol parameters are governed with timelocks and cooldowns. This includes collateral ratio limits (min/max), duration limits (min/max loan term), creation deposit rate, cancellation fees, and treasury address. Changes are proposed first and require a cooldown before approval, giving users time to react. Additionally, per-token configuration (whitelist status and min/max principal limits) is managed by the owner without a cooldown for operational flexibility.
No Liquidation Risk
Unlike many DeFi protocols, Terminus does not rely on price oracles or perform mid-term liquidations. There are no liquidation events during the loan term. This eliminates oracle manipulation risk and flash loan attacks that plague other lending protocols.
Your Funds Are Always Accessible
Even if the protocol is temporarily paused for maintenance or security reasons, you can always reclaim your escrowed funds. Fund access is never blocked.
Protocol Limits
Duration limits restrict how short or long a loan can be. Per-token limits set min/max principal amounts for each whitelisted token. Only whitelisted tokens can be used in offers. These limits prevent extremely small (dust) or excessively large positions, as well as the use of unsupported tokens.
Cancellation Protections
Cancellation fees for locked offers are capped to protect users from excessive penalties. These caps are enforced on-chain and cannot be changed arbitrarily.
Risk Factors
No protocol is without risk. Users should be aware of:
- Smart contract risk — while contracts are designed for safety, bugs can exist in any software
- Collateral depreciation — if collateral value drops significantly, lenders may receive less than their principal in a default scenario
- Starknet infrastructure — the protocol depends on Starknet's availability and security
- Fixed terms — once a loan is active, terms cannot be modified by either party
Transparency
All protocol parameters are readable on-chain by anyone. This website is a convenience layer — all authoritative state lives on Starknet and can be verified independently using any block explorer.