DeFi

Lending Protocol

A DeFi protocol that enables users to deposit tokens to earn yield and borrow tokens against collateral. Key Solana lending protocols include Solend, MarginFi, Kamino, and Save (formerly Solend v2). Lending rates float based on utilization (borrowed/deposited). Deposits receive interest-bearing receipt tokens representing their share.

IDlending

Plain meaning

Start with the shortest useful explanation before going deeper.

A DeFi protocol that enables users to deposit tokens to earn yield and borrow tokens against collateral. Key Solana lending protocols include Solend, MarginFi, Kamino, and Save (formerly Solend v2). Lending rates float based on utilization (borrowed/deposited). Deposits receive interest-bearing receipt tokens representing their share.

Mental model

Use the quick analogy first so the term is easier to reason about when you meet it in code, docs, or prompts.

Think of it as a market mechanic used to price, route, or move capital through liquidity apps.

Technical context

Place the term inside its Solana layer so the definition is easier to reason about.

AMMs, routing, liquidity, lending, and trading infrastructure.

Why builders care

Turn the term from vocabulary into something operational for product and engineering work.

This term unlocks adjacent concepts quickly, so it works best when you treat it as a junction instead of an isolated definition.

AI handoff

AI handoff

Use this compact block when you want to give an agent or assistant grounded context without dumping the entire page.

Lending Protocol (lending)
Category: DeFi
Definition: A DeFi protocol that enables users to deposit tokens to earn yield and borrow tokens against collateral. Key Solana lending protocols include Solend, MarginFi, Kamino, and Save (formerly Solend v2). Lending rates float based on utilization (borrowed/deposited). Deposits receive interest-bearing receipt tokens representing their share.
Related: Borrowing, Collateral, Liquidation
Glossary Copilot

Ask grounded Solana questions without leaving the glossary.

Use glossary context, relationships, mental models, and builder paths to get structured answers instead of generic chat output.

Explain this code

Optional: paste Anchor, Solana, or Rust code so the Copilot can map primitives back to glossary terms.

Ask a glossary-grounded question

Ask a glossary-grounded question

The Copilot will answer using the current term, related concepts, mental models, and the surrounding glossary graph.

Concept graph

See the term as part of a network, not a dead-end definition.

These branches show which concepts this term touches directly and what sits one layer beyond them.

Branch

Borrowing

The act of taking a loan against deposited collateral in a lending protocol. Borrowers pay a variable interest rate that increases with pool utilization. The borrowed amount must stay below the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or the position becomes eligible for liquidation. Flash loans allow uncollateralized borrowing within a single transaction.

Branch

Collateral

Assets deposited into a lending protocol to secure a loan. Each asset has a collateral factor (e.g., SOL at 80% means $100 of SOL supports $80 in borrows). If the collateral value drops below the maintenance threshold, the position is liquidated. Volatile assets have lower collateral factors than stablecoins.

Branch

Liquidation

The process of repaying a borrower's debt by selling their collateral when their position's LTV exceeds the liquidation threshold. Liquidators (typically bots) repay a portion of the debt and receive the collateral at a discount (liquidation bonus, typically 5-10%). Liquidation keeps lending protocols solvent. On Solana, liquidation bots compete via Jito bundles.

Next concepts to explore

Keep the learning chain moving instead of stopping at one definition.

These are the next concepts worth opening if you want this term to make more sense inside a real Solana workflow.

DeFi

Borrowing

The act of taking a loan against deposited collateral in a lending protocol. Borrowers pay a variable interest rate that increases with pool utilization. The borrowed amount must stay below the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or the position becomes eligible for liquidation. Flash loans allow uncollateralized borrowing within a single transaction.

DeFi

Collateral

Assets deposited into a lending protocol to secure a loan. Each asset has a collateral factor (e.g., SOL at 80% means $100 of SOL supports $80 in borrows). If the collateral value drops below the maintenance threshold, the position is liquidated. Volatile assets have lower collateral factors than stablecoins.

DeFi

Liquidation

The process of repaying a borrower's debt by selling their collateral when their position's LTV exceeds the liquidation threshold. Liquidators (typically bots) repay a portion of the debt and receive the collateral at a discount (liquidation bonus, typically 5-10%). Liquidation keeps lending protocols solvent. On Solana, liquidation bots compete via Jito bundles.

DeFi

Leverage

Using borrowed funds to amplify trading exposure beyond deposited capital. In perps, 10x leverage means $100 collateral controls a $1,000 position. Gains and losses are multiplied proportionally. If losses approach the collateral amount, the position is liquidated. Higher leverage increases both potential returns and liquidation risk.

Commonly confused with

Terms nearby in vocabulary, acronym, or conceptual neighborhood.

These entries are easy to mix up when you are reading quickly, prompting an LLM, or onboarding into a new layer of Solana.

DeFiliquidity-pool

Liquidity Pool

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

AliasLPAliasPool
Related terms

Follow the concepts that give this term its actual context.

Glossary entries become useful when they are connected. These links are the shortest path to adjacent ideas.

DeFiborrowing

Borrowing

The act of taking a loan against deposited collateral in a lending protocol. Borrowers pay a variable interest rate that increases with pool utilization. The borrowed amount must stay below the maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or the position becomes eligible for liquidation. Flash loans allow uncollateralized borrowing within a single transaction.

DeFicollateral

Collateral

Assets deposited into a lending protocol to secure a loan. Each asset has a collateral factor (e.g., SOL at 80% means $100 of SOL supports $80 in borrows). If the collateral value drops below the maintenance threshold, the position is liquidated. Volatile assets have lower collateral factors than stablecoins.

DeFiliquidation

Liquidation

The process of repaying a borrower's debt by selling their collateral when their position's LTV exceeds the liquidation threshold. Liquidators (typically bots) repay a portion of the debt and receive the collateral at a discount (liquidation bonus, typically 5-10%). Liquidation keeps lending protocols solvent. On Solana, liquidation bots compete via Jito bundles.

More in category

Stay in the same layer and keep building context.

These entries live beside the current term and help the page feel like part of a larger knowledge graph instead of a dead end.

DeFi

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFi

CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)

An AMM design where liquidity providers concentrate their capital within specific price ranges instead of across the full 0-to-infinity range. CLMMs dramatically improve capital efficiency—LPs earn more fees per dollar deposited within their active range. If the price moves outside the range, the position becomes inactive. Orca Whirlpools and Raydium CLMM are leading implementations on Solana.

DeFi

Liquidity Pool

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

DeFi

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.