EARN — passive yield via Aave
Deposit USDC, receive aTokens 1:1, earn the variable supply APY Aave pays. No lockup. Yield accrues continuously to your aToken balance. Withdraw any time at the current redemption rate.
Earn. Lend. Borrow.
USDC, on-chain.
Three ways to put USDC to work: passive yield routed through Aave, peer-pool lending with interest from borrowers, or borrowing against collateral. Same wallet, three products.
What you get
5 things that distinguish Primeborg Vault
LEND — peer pool, interest from borrowers
Deposit into a VaultCore lending pool. Borrowers draw against collateral; the interest they pay accrues to lenders pro-rata. Higher yield than EARN, with the added counterparty risk of the borrower pool.
BORROW — loans against collateral
Pledge ETH, BTC, or other supported assets; borrow USDC. Fixed-term loans with transparent rates. Liquidation thresholds shown before you sign. Repay any time to unlock collateral early.
Non-custodial state on-chain
Your EARN position is your aToken balance on Aave. Your LEND position is recorded in the VaultCore contract. Your loans are smart-contract escrows holding your collateral. Primeborg never custodies the underlying funds.
Append-only ledger as UI truth
Every position change writes an immutable ledger entry. The UI reads the ledger, never recomputes from chain state mid-render. What you see in the dashboard matches what the reconciler verifies against the chain.
Frequently asked
Honest answers, not marketing
How is EARN different from LEND?
EARN routes your USDC to Aave — a battle-tested money-market protocol with $10B+ of historical liquidity. Yield is whatever Aave pays at the time. LEND is a Primeborg-specific peer pool — your USDC funds borrower loans inside the platform. LEND yield is typically higher because it skips the Aave middle layer, but the counterparty risk is the borrower pool quality, not Aave's.
Can I lose money in EARN?
Yes, two ways. (1) Aave protocol risk: smart-contract bugs, oracle manipulation, or governance attacks could impair aTokens. Aave has been audited many times and has paid out from its safety module historically, but it is not zero risk. (2) USDC depeg: if USDC loses its peg to the dollar, your USDC-denominated balance is unchanged but its purchasing power drops.
What happens if a borrower defaults in LEND?
Borrowers post collateral. If the collateral value drops below the liquidation threshold, the contract liquidates the position automatically — collateral is sold to repay lenders. Lenders are protected from default as long as liquidations happen before collateral becomes insufficient. In extreme market events (severe gaps in price feeds), liquidations can underwater the pool — that scenario means lenders take a haircut.
How does BORROW work?
Pick the asset you want to pledge (ETH, BTC, etc.). The contract shows you the maximum USDC you can borrow at the current loan-to-value ratio, the interest rate, and the liquidation price. You sign, the collateral locks into the loan contract, you receive the USDC. Repay any time; collateral releases on full repayment.
What's the fee structure?
EARN: Primeborg takes a performance fee (% of the Aave yield earned). LEND: Primeborg takes a slice of the interest spread between borrower rate and lender rate. BORROW: a transparent origination fee + interest rate shown before you sign. All fees are deducted from the protocol flow, not charged separately to your wallet.
Is there a withdrawal queue?
EARN: immediate same-block withdrawal at the current aToken redemption rate. LEND: depends on pool liquidity — if borrowers have drawn all available capital, withdrawals queue until borrowers repay or new lenders deposit. BORROW: repay any time to unlock collateral immediately.