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Coinucation
Wednesday, October 7, 2026 · Morning edition
No. 1,206 · 300 coins tracked · Printed from live data
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Glossary · defi

Lending Protocol

A lending protocol is a DeFi application where users deposit crypto to earn interest and borrow against collateral, all governed by smart contracts.

A lending protocol pools deposits from lenders and lets borrowers draw on them. Aave and Compound on Ethereum are the largest examples. Lenders deposit tokens like USDC or ETH and earn a variable interest rate. Borrowers post collateral worth more than the loan and pay interest. All rates and rules are set by the contract and adjusted automatically based on how much of the pool is in use.

Loans are overcollateralized because there is no credit check. To borrow 1,000 USDC a user might need to deposit 1,500 dollars of ETH. If the ETH value falls toward the loan amount, the position can be liquidated: anyone can repay the debt and take the collateral at a discount. This keeps the pool solvent without a bank.

Common uses include borrowing stablecoins against long-term holdings without selling, earning yield on idle stablecoins, and leveraging positions. Risks include liquidation during fast price drops, smart contract bugs, oracle errors that misprice collateral, and bad debt if liquidations fail to keep up with a crash.

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