Solend (SLND)

Lending and Borrowing

Solend is a decentralized protocol on the Solana blockchain that allows users to lend their crypto assets to earn interest and borrow other assets by using their deposits as collateral. It works like a money market where users can supply assets to liquidity pools and borrow against them.

Capital Efficiency and Leverage

Users can increase their capital efficiency by leveraging their assets. For example, they can deposit SOL and borrow USDC to use in other investments or trading strategies, including going long or short on crypto assets.

Algorithmic Interest Rates and Collateral Management

Solend uses algorithms to automatically set interest rates based on supply and demand, and to manage collateral requirements. This helps maintain fairness and efficiency in lending and borrowing.

Delegation and Security Features

Solend V2 allows users to assign delegates to manage borrowing or withdrawing on their behalf while keeping private keys secure. It also isolates certain assets to contain risks within specific pools.

Integration and Ecosystem Use

Solend can be integrated with other DeFi tools and protocols, enabling features like yield farming, margin trading, and recursive borrowing. It supports multiple assets including SOL, USDC, USDT, BTC, and others.

Governance and Token Utility

Solend has a governance token (SLND) that allows users to participate in decision-making for the protocol’s development and management.

Accessibility

Anyone with an internet connection and a Solana wallet can use Solend to lend, borrow, and manage crypto assets efficiently with low fees and fast transactions.

Advantages

• Solend is a decentralized lending and borrowing platform on the Solana blockchain, allowing users to earn interest on deposits and borrow assets using their crypto as collateral.
• It offers fast and cheap transactions compared to other blockchains, making it easy and efficient to use.
• Interest rates are algorithmically determined in real-time based on pool utilization, providing a responsive and fair market.
• Users maintain control of their private keys through non-custodial operations.
• The platform supports multiple crypto assets and pools, including stablecoins and Solana’s native token SOL.
• Solend provides additional incentives through its governance token SLND (now rebranded to SAVE), including liquidity mining rewards.
• It has a growing community and backing from notable investors, enhancing its credibility.

Disadvantages

• Solend operates on the somewhat centralized Solana network, where the founders have significant control, which can affect network stability.
• The platform has experienced vulnerabilities, such as an oracle exploit causing financial damage, showing potential risks inherent in DeFi protocols.
• Liquidation risks exist if collateral value falls below thresholds, which can lead to partial asset liquidation with penalties.
• Smart contract risks remain despite audits, as bugs or exploits can occur.
• Some users have expressed concerns about governance decisions and control over user accounts in exceptional situations.

Overall, Solend offers a fast, user-friendly DeFi lending and borrowing experience on Solana with attractive features and rewards, balanced by typical DeFi risks and some centralization aspects of the underlying blockchain.

Founders

Solend was founded by Rooter 0x and Liam 'Akiba' Wright in 2021. Rooter 0x is the main founder and a software engineer with experience in Ethereum smart contracts since 2017. The idea for Solend came after discussions with the founders of Raydium and Orca, who encouraged building on the Solana platform.

Background

Rooter started Solend to create a decentralized lending protocol on Solana that is faster and cheaper than Ethereum-based platforms. The goal was to democratize access to financial products by making them accessible to everyone, not just large investors.

Team and Support

The founders are pseudonymous but have gained support from investors like Polychain Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and the Solana Foundation. Rooter is the public face of the project and has shared insights about Solend’s development and challenges.

Investors in Solend

Solend has raised a total of $6.5 million in funding from multiple well-known investors. Key investors include:

• Venture Capital Firms: Polychain, Race Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Alameda Research, Solana Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, Petrock Capital, Epsilon Trading.
• Notable Individuals and Industry Figures: Stani from Aave, Antonio from dYdX, Balaji Srinivasan, Hart from UMA, 0xMaki, Julian from Ribbon, DCFGod.

These investors participated in funding rounds such as Seed VC and Initial Dex Offering (IDO), supporting Solend's growth as a decentralized lending and borrowing protocol on the Solana blockchain.

Halal Status of Solend

Solend is considered halal by most scholars because it operates on the Solana blockchain, which is widely regarded as halal. The staking and reward systems in Solana, and by extension Solend, do not involve interest (riba), excessive uncertainty (gharar), or gambling (maisir), which aligns with Islamic finance principles.

Reasoning

• Solana’s technology and staking rewards are free from prohibited elements like riba, gharar, and maisir.
• Scholars compare Solana to Ethereum, which is also considered halal.
• Solend, built on Solana, inherits these halal characteristics as long as it is used ethically and in compliance with Shariah law.