Lending
Azima
Azima is a fintech startup with a crypto token and decentralised application allowing users to conduct P2P trading between fiat currency and digital assets
Azimabonds.org
Bonds.org is a pioneer in decentralized asset lending on Cardano, allowing enthusiasts to take full advantage of lending and borrowing opportunities.
bonds.orgKulfi Finance
A decentralized lending and borrowing platform for Cardano native tokens. Borrowers pay a fixed interest rate, lenders receive a fixed rate for depositing funds
Kulfi FinanceFlac Finance
A lending protocol where users can borrow fiat against their crypto and stablecoin assets. Initially targeting the Indian market.
Flac FinanceADALend
A lending protocol of single currency pools with an unlimited borrowing duration and fluctuating interest rates based on loan length and pool utilization rate.
ADALendCommonlands
Community Driven Land Registry
CommonlandsFluid Tokens
A peer-to-peer lending protocol where borrowers set the terms and front their Cardano NFT as collateral for an ADA loan. Lender then choose which loan to fund.
Fluid TokensLending Pond
A decentralized lending and borrowing platform where borrowers list Cardano NFTs as collateral for an ADA loan and lenders choose which loans they want to fund.
Lending PondLiqwidX
A decentralized borrowing protocol accepting ADA as deposits for over-collateralized loans issued as a stablecoin that is algorithmically pegged to USD.
LiqwidXAstarter
A launchpad and accelerator for projects building on Cardano, also featuring a DEX, a decentralized lending and borrowing, and a technical support platform.
AstarterAada
A decentralized, non-custodial crypto asset lending platform offering both over-collateralized and under-collateralized loan, and an ERC-20 converter.
AadaParibus
A cross-chain, collateralized loan platform aiming to help users unlock the liquidity locked in a wide variety of digital assets.
ParibusB58 Finance
A mobile-based wallet with an integrated DeFi platform, aiming to increase Cardano adoption through the familiarity of the access point for the general public.
B58 FinanceLiqwid
An open source and non-custodial liquidity protocol for interest rate curves based on lender supply and borrower demand of the underlying Cardano native asset.
LiqwidMELD
Deposit crypto to use as collateral and receive a cash loan, deposited into any bank account in the world.
MELD
Lending Protocols
Lending protocols in the DeFi world allow people to loan or lend money in a peer-to-peer manner, i.e. without the banking middleman. These loans are secured by the lender over-collateralizing the loan and the terms of the loan being managed in a smart contract. This gives the unbanked or those who have poor credit the ability to take loans, and it gives those with excess capital the opportunity to provide loans in a secure and trustless manner, and to earn income from them.
Over-collateralization means that the person receiving the loan locks up more than the value of the loan to secure it e.g. if they want to loan 100 they must lock up 150. How much they over-collateralize the loan by, and which tokens they use as collateral, depends on the platform. Some platforms only accept stablecoins, and other accept a variety of crypto assets. Typically, an individual uses one asset for collateral and takes a different asset as their loan.
An important factor in all loans is the interest rate and the length of the loan. These vary greatly by lending protocol, and loans can have fixed interest rates and periods, or infinite periods with interest rates that fluctuate throughout the loan period, fluctuating based upon the utilization rate of the pool of funds the loan was drawn from.
Importantly, the receiver of a loan is expected to maintain a certain ratio of collateral to loan, meaning that if the value of their collateral drops below that of their collateral to loan ratio, they need to add more collateral to keep the required balance. If they don’t keep up the collateral ratio they face liquidation and the loss of their collateral.
To "become the bank" those with idle tokens can deposit them into a lending protocol and earn from the interest derived from the loans their tokens are used to facilitate. Usually this deposit requires a lockup period of a certain length of time. Often, the longer the lockup period the higher the percentage return for the depositor.