Kaskad is a decentralized, non-custodial lending platform designed to let users borrow or supply cryptocurrencies. Suppliers earn interest on their assets while providing liquidity for the protocol to function more securely. The protocol is built on the Kaspa blockDAG, which enables faster, cheaper and more secure transactions. It also provides the most secure oracle in crypto academia, which can only be implemented on a multi-leader consensus protocol; uniquely available by Kaspa (see blogs for more details). Our aim is to provide many reputable cryptocurrencies in order for more flexibility, allowed by wrapped tokens on Kaspa (learn more about wrapped tokens here).

Decentralised lending through smart contracts ensure users can borrow reliably while keeping their assets in smart contracts they control. Kaskad operates without holding user funds, meaning you retain your private keys and full ownership of your assets, aligning with the principles of financial sovereignty. The Kaskad app, available on iOS, Android, and web, offers a clear interface with real-time loan tracking and educational guides, helping users understand and manage their finances. Transactions are recorded on Kaspa’s blockDAG ledger, publicly verifiable through Kaspa Explorer, ensuring transparency.

We don’t limit ourselves to on-chain lending, a unique feature on our roadmap is the following. Users will be able to supply any crypto in order to borrow fiat, using the Kaskard to spend cryptocurrency loans anywhere Visa is accepted. 

Using Kaskad requires transactions on Kaspa’s Layer-1 blockchain, which incur minimal gas fees, typically under $0.01, due to Kaspa’s GHOSTDAG protocol. Unlike Ethereum or other reputable networks, Kaspa’s design prevents congestion and ensures the network remains operational, delivering fast, reliable, and low-cost transactions regardless of demand or complexity. These fees, determined by Kaspa’s efficient consensus, support seamless interactions with Kaskad’s smart contracts for supplying, borrowing, and repaying loans.A comparison of statistics on fees, congestion, as well as network latency can be seen here, in order to better comprehend why we chose the Kaspa Layer 1 in order to build our lending platform.

Your funds cannot be frozen by Kaskad because it operates as a non-custodial platform. You control your private keys, and your KAS or borrowed assets remain in your wallet or locked in audited smart contracts, not in Kaskad’s possession. These smart contracts, built on Kaspa’s KRC-20 standard, are immutable and can only be accessed by you for withdrawals or by liquidators if your loan becomes undercollateralized. 

Kaskad complies with minimal regulatory requirements, such as KYC for card issuance, handled by third-party providers like Onfido, but this does not grant Kaskad or its partners authority to freeze assets. Stripe, used for fiat conversions, manages compliance for payment processing, but Kaskad’s decentralized design ensures no centralized entity can intervene in your on-chain assets. This structure protects users from the risks of custodial platforms, where funds might be frozen due to regulatory actions or platform policies, making Kaskad a secure choice for those valuing financial autonomy.

Yes, Kaskad offers a testnet mode to let you explore its features without risking real funds. Accessible through the app’s “Testnet” section, this mode runs on Kaspa’s Testnet 11, a fully functional replica of the mainnet. You can simulate supplying, borrowing, repaying loans, triggering liquidations and even paying at a terminal in a real-world store, to better understand the speed of transactions as well as what happens behind the scenes. Our goal is not only to allow for the best customer experience, but also to help understand the mechanism for more transparency.
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To start, connect a testnet-compatible wallet like Kaspium, follow the in-app setup guide, and experiment with different scenarios. This feature is especially useful for new users or those unfamiliar with DeFi, as it builds confidence in managing loans before committing real KAS. The testnet is designed to be as user-friendly as possible, ensuring a simple and intuitive understanding of the platform, with guides to help the user through the journey.

Kaspa is a Layer 1 proof-of-work consensus that aims to fulfil Satoshi’s vision of a P2P decentralised digital cash system. To learn more you can visit here with a brief overview of it’s unique properties, here to see the white papers, or even here to dive deeper into Shai’s book explaining in great detail what Kaspa achieves.

Wrapped cryptocurrencies are tokens that represent the value of another cryptocurrency, typically from a different blockchain, allowing them to be used within a specific blockchain like Kaspa. For example, wBTC is Bitcoin (BTC) “wrapped” into a token compatible with Kaspa’s KRC-20 standard, enabling it to benefit all the advantages from the Kaspa L1 : namely speed as well as low transaction fees, even using bitcoin !

The original crypto is locked in a secure contract (e.g., via a bridge), and an equivalent amount of the wrapped token is minted on Kaspa’s blockchain. When you redeem the wrapped token, the original crypto is released. This process, facilitated by audited custodians or decentralized bridges, lets you use assets like BTC or ETH on Kaskad without selling them, expanding collateral options while maintaining Kaspa’s fast, low-cost transactions. The Kaskad app will support wrapped assets like wBTC and wETH in V2 (Q3 2025), with clear guides  to help you manage them securely.

Using Kaskad involves several risks, primarily tied to the nature of decentralized lending. The most significant is market volatility, where a sharp drop in KAS’s price can reduce your collateral’s value, pushing your loan-to-value ratio above safe levels and triggering a liquidation, where part of your KAS is sold to repay the loan. Another risk is smart contract vulnerabilities; while Kaskad uses audited contracts, undiscovered bugs could theoretically lead to asset losses. Oracle errors pose a smaller risk, given the designas inaccurate price feeds from sources like Chainlink could misvalue your collateral, affecting loan calculations; Kaskad mitigates this by using multiple oracle providers for redundancy. 

Kaskad’s app provides real-time alerts and clear metrics to help you manage these risks, and its non-custodial design ensures you retain control over your assets, reducing counterparty risks compared to centralized platforms.

Kaskad is designed to maximize asset security through its decentralized and non-custodial architecture. Your KAS and borrowed funds never leave your wallet or our audited smart contracts, eliminating the risk of Kaskad holding or mismanaging your assets. Kaspa’s blockchain, secured by a proof-of-work blockDAG and kHeavyHash algorithm, offers Bitcoin-grade protection, with no recorded 51% attacks since its 2021 launch. 
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Kaskad’s Kaspa-specific smart contracts, built on the KRC-20 standard, undergo rigorous third-party audits by firms like Certik, with results published for transparency. The Kaskad app uses end-to-end encryption for user data, and KYC information is handled securely, not stored by Kaskad. To further protect yourself, secure your wallet with two-factor authentication or a hardware device like Ledger, and monitor loan health through the app’s alerts.

The health factor is a key metric that indicates the safety of your loan on Kaskad, calculated as the collateral value multiplied by the liquidation threshold, divided by the loan value. For example, if you supply $1,000 worth of KAS with an 80% liquidation threshold and borrow $400 in USDC, your health factor is ($1,000 × 0.8) / $400 = 2. A health factor above 1 means your loan is safe; if it falls below 1, due to a KAS price drop or increased loan value, your collateral faces liquidation. 

Maintaining a health factor above 2 provides a buffer against market volatility. The Kaskad app displays your health factor in real-time, with alerts if it approaches 1.5, prompting you to add collateral or repay part of the loan. This metric is critical because it empowers you to proactively manage your loan, preventing unexpected losses and ensuring you understand your financial position at all times.

If you can’t repay your loan, Kaskad’s smart contracts protect lenders by liquidating your collateral when the health factor falls below 1. For instance, if you borrowed $400 USDC against $1,000 KAS and KAS’s value drops to $450, pushing the health factor below 1, the contract will sell approximately $420 worth of KAS (including a 5% liquidation fee) to repay the loan. 

Any remaining collateral is returned to your wallet. You won’t owe additional funds beyond your collateral, as Kaskad’s loans are over-collateralized, but you’ll lose part of your KAS. To avoid this, the app sends alerts when your health factor nears 1, and you can enable auto-repayment to sell collateral proactively. If you anticipate repayment issues, consider borrowing less initially or repaying partially during price dips. Kaskad’s transparent interface and Kaspa’s fast confirmations help you act quickly to manage risks. 

To supply assets on Kaskad, open the app and navigate to the “Supply” section. Select KAS (or other assets like wBTC in V2), enter the amount you wish to supply, and confirm the transaction through your wallet, such as Kaspium. The first time you supply an asset, you’ll need to approve the smart contract, which incurs a one-time gas fee of about $0.01 on Kaspa’s network. Once confirmed, your KAS is locked in a non-custodial smart contract, where it earns interest from borrowers and can be used as collateral for borrowing. The process takes sub-second time due to Kaspa’s 10 blocks per second, and you can track your supplied balance, interest earned, and collateral status in the “Dashboard” section. The app’s intuitive design guides you through each step, and in-app tutorials explain how your assets generate returns, making it accessible even for DeFi newcomers.

When you supply KAS to Kaskad, you earn interest paid by borrowers, distributed proportionally based on our lending pool utilization rate. The more borrowers demand loans, the higher your interest rate, which is variable and typically ranges from 1% to 3% APY for KAS. Upon supplying, your KAS is tokenized as aKAS, a receipt-like token that accrues interest in real-time, increasing your balance automatically. For example, supplying $1,000 KAS at a 2% APY yields about $20 annually, compounded as borrowers repay. 

You can view current rates and projected earnings in the app’s “Reserve Overview” section, updated live. Unlike fixed-term deposits, aKAS tokens are redeemable anytime if not used as collateral, giving you flexibility. Kaspa’s low fees ensure that supplying and withdrawing assets remain cost-effective, making Kaskad a reliable way to generate passive income.

Your supplied KAS automatically qualifies as collateral for borrowing on Kaskad, allowing you to access loans without selling your assets. When you supply KAS, it’s locked in a smart contract, and you can borrow up to 50% of its value (loan-to-value ratio), such as $500 USDC for $1,000 KAS. Borrowing reduces the amount of KAS you can withdraw until the loan is repaid, but your supplied KAS continues to earn interest. The “Dashboard” clearly distinguishes between collateralized and free KAS, so you always know your available balance.
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This dual-purpose functionality—earning interest while enabling borrowing—maximizes the utility of your assets. Kaspa’s fast transactions ensure seamless collateral management, and the app’s alerts help you maintain a safe loan-to-value ratio, preventing liquidation risks.

Supplying KAS to Kaskad is generally low-risk but not without potential downsides. The primary risk is market volatility; if you use supplied KAS as collateral and its price drops, your loan-to-value ratio may increase, risking liquidation. Interest rate fluctuations are another concern, as low borrower demand can reduce your APY, though rates are transparent in the app. Liquidity risk is minimal but possible; if the lending pool is heavily utilized, withdrawals may be delayed until more funds are available, though Kaskad monitors pool health to prevent this. Smart contract vulnerabilities, while unlikely due to audits, could affect your assets. To mitigate these risks, supply only what you can afford to lock, monitor your health factor if borrowing, and use Kaskad’s real-time data to make informed decisions. The non-custodial model ensures you retain control, reducing exposure to platform-specific risks.

To borrow on Kaskad, you first need to supply KAS as collateral (later you will be able to supply wrapped tokens like BTC or ETH). In the app, go to the “Supply” section, deposit KAS, and confirm the transaction. Then, navigate to “Borrow,” select USDC or fiat (converted via Stripe for Kaskard use), and enter the desired amount, which cannot exceed 50% of your collateral’s value (e.g., $500 USDC for $1,000 KAS). Choose between a variable interest rate, typically 1–3% APR based on market demand, or a stable rate, around 2% APR, which adjusts slowly to market changes. Confirm the transaction, and funds are delivered to your wallet or card within sub-second confirmations, thanks to Kaspa’s fast block times.
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The app guides you through each step, displaying loan terms, interest rates, and your health factor before you borrow, ensuring you understand the commitment. This process makes borrowing quick and accessible, ideal for real-world spending or liquidity needs.

In Kaskad’s V1, you can borrow USDC or KAS, a stablecoin pegged to the US dollar, by depositing KAS or USDC, USDT in our liquidity pools as collateral. USDC is ideal for predictable loan values, suitable for everyday expenses or investments. Borrowing limits depend on your collateral’s value and the loan-to-value ratio (50%), so $1,000 KAS allows up to $500 USDC. Kaskad caps smaller amounts on loans for V1 stability. In V2, planned for Q3 2025 with Igra’s KaspaEVM, Kaskad will support additional assets like DAI, USDT, wBTC, and wETH. The app’s “Borrow” section clearly shows available assets and limits, helping you plan your loan with confidence.

Repaying a loan on Kaskad is straightforward. In the “Borrowings” section of the app, select “Repay,” enter the amount in USDC, and send it to the smart contract address provided. You can repay the full loan or make partial payments at any time, with no penalties. Partial repayments improve your health factor, reducing liquidation risk.
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For example, if you borrowed $400 USDC, repaying $100 lowers your outstanding debt and strengthens your loan’s safety. You can also enable auto-repayment, which sells collateral proactively if your loan-to-value ratio nears 70%.
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The app tracks your repayment history and remaining balance, ensuring transparency. Kaspa’s low fees make frequent or small repayments cost-effective, giving you flexibility to manage your loan as market conditions change.

Borrowing on Kaskad carries the same risks as any other lending platform. The most significant is liquidation; if KAS’s price drops, increasing your loan-to-value ratio above 70%, your collateral may be sold to repay the loan, resulting in partial loss of KAS. Interest rate fluctuations are another risk; variable rates can rise to 10% APR in extreme market conditions, while stable rates adjust more slowly but may still shift. Stablecoin peg risks, though rare, could affect your loan’s value if USDC deviates from $1 (e.g., to $0.95), impacting your health factor.
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Smart contract or oracle errors could also disrupt loan calculations, though audits and multiple oracle sources minimize this. To manage these risks, borrow conservatively, monitor app alerts, and consider diversifying collateral in V2. Kaskad’s transparent metrics and fast transactions help you respond quickly to market changes, reducing potential losses.

A liquidation occurs when your loan’s health factor falls below 1, indicating that your collateral no longer sufficiently covers your debt, often due to a drop in the collateral’s price. When this happens, a Kaskad smart contract automatically sells up to 50% of your collateral to repay the loan, plus a 5% liquidation fee, ensuring lenders are protected. For example, if you supplied $1,000 KAS and borrowed $400 USDC, and KAS’s value drops to $450, pushing the health factor below 1, the contract might sell approximately $420 worth of KAS to cover the debt and fee. Any remaining collateral is returned to your wallet. Liquidations are executed on a Kaspa-based decentralized exchange like KaspaCat, with Kaspa’s sub-second block times ensuring minimal slippage. The “Borrowings” section of the app provides a detailed breakdown after a liquidation, and all transactions are recorded on Kaspa Explorer for transparency.

Preventing liquidations requires proactive loan management, and Kaskad’s app provides tools to help. The most effective strategy is to keep your health factor above 2, which you can monitor in real-time through the “Dashboard.” If the health factor approaches 1.5, due to a KAS price drop, the app sends alerts prompting you to add more KAS collateral or repay part of the loan. Borrowing conservatively, such as at a 30% loan-to-value ratio instead of 50%, creates a larger buffer against market volatility. You can also enable auto-repayment in the app, which sells collateral proactively if your loan-to-value ratio nears 70%, avoiding full liquidation.
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For advanced users, third-party tools like DeFi Saver can provide additional monitoring and automated actions. By staying informed through Kaskad’s alerts and maintaining a low loan-to-value ratio, you can significantly reduce the risk of losing your collateral. Features to come in a v2 will provide documentation as well as automation of risk management for users who do not wish to constantly monitor their collateral price action.

When your health factor falls below 1, a liquidation is triggered to repay your loan and protect lenders. Kaskad’s smart contracts, detect this using real-time price oracles like Chainlink. A liquidator—typically an automated bot—repays up to 50% of your outstanding loan and claims an equivalent amount of your KAS collateral, plus a 5% fee, via a Kaspa-based decentralized exchange. For example, if you owe $400 and your collateral is liquidated, the bot takes $420 worth of KAS, and any remaining KAS is returned to your wallet.
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Kaspa’s sub-second block times ensure the process is fast, minimizing price slippage during volatile markets. After liquidation, the “Borrowings” section of the app shows the repaid amount, sold collateral, and your updated balance. All liquidation transactions are publicly verifiable on Kaspa Explorer, ensuring transparency and trust in the process.

Liquidations on Kaskad are permissionless, meaning anyone can act as a liquidator to repay undercollateralized loans and earn the 5% liquidation fee. In practice, automated bots dominate this process, as they continuously monitor Kaskad’s smart contracts and execute liquidations within seconds of a health factor falling below 1. These bots use Kaspa’s public API, detailed in Kaskad’s developer documentation, to identify and process opportunities. Of course these bots can only liquidate your loans if they are undercollateralized, a competitive environment is necessary to increase the security of the protocol, so loans are repaid when undercollateralized.
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As a user, you can outpace liquidators by responding to app alerts, which notify you when your health factor nears 1, allowing you to add collateral or repay the loan, ensuring you do not get liquidated. For developers interested in building custom liquidation bots, Kaskad provides open-source tools and API access, fostering a competitive ecosystem. This permissionless model ensures the platform remains solvent and fair, while the app’s proactive alerts empower you to avoid liquidations altogether.