Overview
Stipend is an on-chain program on Solana, plus this website. You deposit USDC. The program supplies it to one Kamino Lend reserve and tracks two numbers for you: principal, the amount you put in, and spendable interest, what it has earned minus what you have already spent. You can spend the second number anywhere on Solana. You can take the first back whenever you like.
How it works
- Deposit. The program moves your USDC into Kamino Lend and receives reserve shares (kTokens). Your principal is credited at the value of those shares, never more than you sent.
- Earn. Borrowers pay interest to the reserve, so each share slowly becomes worth more USDC. That growth is your interest.
- Spend. A spend burns only the shares that are worth more than your principal and sends the USDC to any address you choose.
- Withdraw. You sign a withdrawal and the program redeems shares for your principal, straight back to your wallet.
The one rule, on-chain
The program, not the website, enforces these rules:
- Shares covering your principal are reserved and rounded up. A spend can only burn shares above that reservation, and it is rejected in full if it asks for more. There is no partial fill and no fallback to principal.
- A spend requires the lending reserve to have been refreshed in the same slot. Stale or unreadable data means spendable is zero. After the lending call, the program checks again that your principal is still fully covered, or it reverts everything.
- Only your wallet can withdraw principal, and only to itself. Withdrawals can never be paused by anyone.
- Your deposit and its interest never touch the $STIP token. The program only holds USDC and the reserve’s own share token.
- Early-access caps limit how much each wallet, and the vault in total, can hold.
Accounts & sign-in
Your wallet address is your account. When you open the app you connect a wallet and sign a short message. That signature proves you own the address and costs nothing. Each address has exactly one account. Switching wallets means switching accounts. The account stores sign-in times and, optionally, a waitlist email. Funds are never held by it. They stay in the on-chain vault under your wallet.
Where numbers come from
Every balance in the app is read from Solana. Your position comes from the program. Interest accrued up to the current slot comes from simulating Kamino Lend’s own refresh_reserve instruction (nothing is signed or sent). The supply APY is computed from the reserve’s on-chain borrow curve and utilisation. It changes constantly and is not a promise.
Withdrawals & liquidity
Lending markets lend out most of their deposits. When a reserve is almost fully utilised, there may not be enough free USDC for a large withdrawal until borrowers repay. Rates rise sharply in that situation, which normally restores liquidity quickly. If you don’t want to wait, close in kind hands you the reserve’s share tokens directly. You can redeem them with Kamino at any time, without Stipend.
Risks
Smart-contract bugs, losses in the lending market, stablecoin de-pegs and network outages can all cause losses. The full list is in the Terms. Stipend has not been externally audited yet, which is why deposits are capped.
Addresses (Mainnet)
| Stipend program | 8E5JrXZX8neNC43LhaBrcxHxeqAhZ9hwUND7scyohEjC |
|---|---|
| USDC mint | EPjFWdd5AufqSSqeM2qN1xzybapC8G4wEGGkZwyTDt1v |
| Kamino Lend program | KLend2g3cP87fffoy8q1mQqGKjrxjC8boSyAYavgmjD |
| $STIP token | vwy5GSRpYsHLvHMn5BzkvxKwA5ZXBcBamPw9yoEpump |
Live reserve, market and vault accounts are listed in the app under Chain.
FAQ
Can Stipend move my money?
No. There is no admin path to user principal. The admin can adjust caps and pause new deposits and spends, but never withdrawals.
What happens if the website goes down?
The program keeps working. Anyone can build a transaction to withdraw, and the source and interface are public.
Why can’t I spend right after depositing?
Only earned interest is spendable, and a fresh deposit hasn’t earned anything yet. It starts accruing immediately.
Is there a card?
Not yet. A card that can only draw interest needs a licensed issuer. Our card programme is under review with a licensed card issuer. We expect physical Visa cards to be available within about a month. Join the waitlist in the app. Until then, spend interest to any Solana wallet, exchange or payment app.