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Borrow Balanced Dollars

Learn how to deposit collateral, borrow bnUSD, optimise your risk, and close your position.

About Balanced Dollars​

The Balanced Dollar (bnUSD) is a decentralised stablecoin that tracks the price of 1 US dollar. It uses crypto as collateral to guarantee its value, with support for assets from a variety of blockchains.

bnUSD is over-collateralised, so the total supply cannot exceed the value that backs it.

You can use bnUSD wrapper-free on Arbitrum, Archway, Avalanche, Base, BNB Chain, Havah, ICON, Injective, Optimism, Solana, Stellar, Sui, and every additional blockchain Balanced connects to.

Learn more about the bnUSD stablecoin.

Earn a return for Balanced Dollars

Deposit bnUSD into the Savings Rate to earn rewards from loan interest and ICON blockchain incentives. Only available on ICON — for now.
Learn more about the Balanced Savings Rate.

Borrow bnUSD​

You can borrow bnUSD against a range of collateral types on supported blockchains. There’s a 0.2% fee to borrow, and your debt will increase by 2% per year. Each transaction includes a small cross-chain fee which varies per chain.

1. Deposit collateral​

You can borrow bnUSD against a range of assets. Loans are isolated, which means each collateral type represents a separate position with its own risk profile.

From the Collateral section on the Home page:

  1. Choose a collateral type, then choose which blockchain to use.
  2. Click Deposit and enter the amount, then check the Loan section to see how many bnUSD you can borrow.
  3. Click Confirm and complete the transaction.
The Collateral section in the adjustable state
What about multi-chain collateral?

If you deposit the same asset on multiple blockchains, you have multiple positions. For example, if you deposit ETH on both Arbitrum and Base, you have two positions, so you can borrow against your Arbitrum ETH without putting your Base ETH at risk.

2. Take out a loan​

You can borrow bnUSD against your collateral, which you can choose to receive and repay from any supported blockchain.

Make sure the correct collateral type is active, then go to the Loan section:

  1. Choose which blockchain to use.
  2. Click Borrow and enter the amount (10 bnUSD minimum).
  3. Use the Position Details section to assess your risk.
  4. Click Confirm and complete the transaction.
The Loan section in the adjustable state

You’ll pay a cross-chain fee and a 0.2% borrow fee, and your debt will increase by 2% a year. Some or all of your collateral will be locked until you reduce the size of your loan.

A loan puts your collateral at risk

When the USD value of your collateral falls, your risk increases. If your collateral is ever worth less than 118% of your loan (a loan-to-value ratio of 85%), it will be partially liquidated to reduce your risk.

Keep a close eye on your risk ratio from the Position Details section.

3. Monitor your position​

Use the Position Details section to monitor your risk and make calculated adjustments. It includes the price each collateral type has to reach to trigger liquidation, so you can assess your risk against the market conditions.

The Position Details section

  • All collateral locked. The maximum amount you can borrow, which varies for each collateral type. To withdraw collateral, your risk must be below this threshold.

  • Liquidated. When your loan is worth more than 85% of your collateral value, you’ll lose some of your collateral to reduce your risk. If you have less than $100 of debt, all your collateral will be liquidated.

  • Redemptions. If the price of bnUSD falls below $0.90 and the Stability Fund is empty, traders may choose to redeem (burn) bnUSD in exchange for borrower collateral. For every bnUSD they redeem, they'll receive $0.97 of collateral and repay $0.995 of borrower debt. Redemptions are only available via the Balanced Loans contract, and are spread across a group of borrowers to limit the impact.

  • Loan interest. The amount of debt that will be added to your loan over the next day/week/month/year. Balanced will inflate your debt block by block to collect the interest, which will increase your risk over time. The interest rate can be adjusted through governance at any time.

To lower your risk ratio, repay some of your loan or deposit more collateral.

If you’ve deposited multiple collateral types, make sure to check the status of each position regularly. You can swap between them from the Collateral section.

Close your position​

1. Repay your loan​

To repay your loan, make sure the correct collateral type is active, then:

  1. Go to the Loan section and choose which blockchain to repay from.
  2. Click Adjust or Repay and reduce the amount.
  3. Click Confirm and complete the transaction.

If you don’t have enough bnUSD to repay your loan, you’ll see a Repayable label to indicate the maximum amount you can repay. Choose to repay bnUSD from a different blockchain, or go to the Trade page to buy more.

2. Withdraw collateral​

To withdraw collateral, click Adjust or Withdraw in the Collateral section, then reduce the amount. If you still have a loan, you can only withdraw up to the Locked label.

If you withdraw ICX, you’ll get to choose whether to unstake it (takes up to 7 days) or receive sICX, which you can swap for ICX or unstake from your wallet.