Colend Questions Answered
Everything you need to know before supplying or borrowing on Colend. For a deeper look at the protocol itself, visit the info page. Ready to start? Head back to the main app.
What exactly is Colend and what does it do?
Colend is a non-custodial lending and borrowing protocol built natively on Core blockchain. Users deposit assets to earn interest, or post collateral and take out loans — all without a central intermediary touching the funds. The protocol manages positions through audited smart contracts only. It draws design inspiration from established money markets like Aave while being purpose-built for the Core network and its asset types, including LSTBTC.
How do I start supplying assets to Colend?
Connect a compatible wallet — MetaMask or WalletConnect work fine — then switch to Core mainnet. Once connected, open the Supply tab, pick the asset you hold, enter an amount, and confirm the transaction. That's the whole process. After confirmation your balance appears immediately in the dashboard and interest starts accruing block by block. There is no lock-up period on the standard supply positions.
What assets can I supply or borrow on the platform?
The Core market supports the assets native to Core chain, while the separate LSTBTC market handles liquid-staked Bitcoin derivatives. The full list lives on the All Markets page and is updated as governance adds new collateral types. Supply and borrow caps for each asset are set by the Colend protocol parameters to limit concentration risk.
How are interest rates determined?
Rates are algorithmic and adjust continuously based on utilisation — the share of supplied liquidity that is currently borrowed. When utilisation is low, rates are low to attract borrowers. As more of the pool is borrowed, rates rise sharply past a kink point, incentivising repayment and new supply. Neither the team nor any oracle sets rates manually; the math runs on-chain with every block.
Is Colend safe? Has the code been audited?
The Colend team contracted independent security firms to audit the smart contracts before mainnet launch. Audit reports are referenced in the official documentation. That said, no audit eliminates all risk. Smart contract bugs, oracle failures, and extreme market moves can still affect funds. The protocol also enforces over-collateralisation and liquidation thresholds as a secondary safety layer. Always supply only what you can afford to keep in a DeFi protocol.
What is the CLND token and do I need it to use the protocol?
CLND is the native token of Colend. You do not need CLND to supply or borrow — those actions work with any supported asset. CLND is involved in governance and reward distribution. As of writing, the market price is around $0.04 and trades are visible on GeckoTerminal. Holding or staking CLND may affect reward multipliers, but the base protocol functions without it.
What is the difference between the Core market and the LSTBTC market?
They are two isolated lending pools. The Core market accepts Core-chain native assets as collateral and allows borrowing those assets. The LSTBTC market is separate and deals specifically with liquid-staked Bitcoin tokens. Isolation means a problem in one pool does not automatically affect the other. You can participate in both simultaneously with different wallet positions.
How does liquidation work and when does it happen?
Every borrow position has a health factor calculated from the value of your collateral versus your debt. When the health factor drops below 1 — because collateral price fell or borrowed asset price rose — liquidators can repay part of the debt and claim a portion of your collateral at a discount. The Colend protocol follows a partial-liquidation model, meaning only enough collateral is seized to bring the health factor back to a safe range, not the entire position at once.
Can I borrow against LSTBTC as collateral?
Yes. The LSTBTC market was built specifically for this. Deposit your liquid-staked BTC derivative, and the protocol assigns a loan-to-value ratio based on the asset's parameters. You can then borrow other assets up to that limit. Because LSTBTC price can diverge from spot BTC during market stress, the collateral factor is set conservatively. Check the market detail page for the current LTV before opening a position.
Why should I use Colend instead of bridging to another chain?
Bridging adds steps, gas costs, and bridge risk. Colend keeps your assets on Core chain throughout. For users who already hold Core assets or LSTBTC, supplying directly on the Colend platform means no bridge exposure and faster transactions at Core's fee levels. It also means your rewards accumulate in CLND rather than a foreign protocol's token, staying within the Core ecosystem without an extra hop.
How do I repay a loan on Colend?
Navigate to the Dashboard, find your active borrow position, and click Repay. You can repay the full amount or a partial amount at any time — there is no minimum repayment schedule and no early-repayment penalty. After repayment, your health factor improves and you can either withdraw released collateral or keep it deposited to earn supply interest.
What happens to my supply position if I do not check it for weeks?
Supply positions accrue interest passively and do not expire. If you are only a supplier with no open borrow, your position is not at liquidation risk from price movements; it just grows. However, if you have an active loan against that supply, ignoring a falling collateral price could push your health factor below 1. Setting price alerts for your collateral assets is a practical habit for borrowers.
Does Colend follow the ERC-4626 vault standard?
The Colend protocol's interest-bearing tokens are inspired by standards like ERC-4626 for tokenised vaults, though the exact implementation is specific to the Core chain environment. This means your supplied balance is represented as a token that can be transferred or used in compatible integrations. Check the protocol info page and the official documentation for the precise token standard details.
Are there any fees charged by the protocol?
The protocol collects a reserve factor on interest earned — a percentage that goes into a treasury controlled by governance rather than to suppliers directly. This is how Colend funds ongoing development and security. The reserve factor varies by asset. There is no deposit or withdrawal fee on top of normal network gas costs. Borrowers pay the full borrow rate; the spread between borrow and supply APY funds the reserve.
Where can I find technical documentation or raise a support issue?
The official docs are hosted on GitBook and linked from the footer of the main app. For real-time support questions, the Telegram community at t.me/colend_xyz is the fastest channel. Technical contributors and developers can also follow the project on Twitter/X for protocol updates and governance announcements.